The tourist shot with the pointed shells of the Sydney Opera House in the background is an easy cliche. Thankfully, artist Spencer Tunick, who’s known for his large scale nude installations, rectified that yesterday. He assembled some 5,200 Aussies to get naked in front of the opera house for his camera.

Participants arrived as early as 4 a.m. yesterday to be part of the installation, which was dubbed “The Base.” At one point, Tunick asked participants to turn to their neighbors for a hug to demonstrate that Australians aren’t afraid to hug naked strangers, and also that they don’t care about the sexual orientation of those naked strangers. Tunick said “Gay men and women lay naked next to their straight neighbours and this delivered a very strong message to the world that Australians embrace a free and equal society.” Sort of gives new mean to “hugging it out.”