Only shoes: the museum organized a "special" exhibition for people without clothes (5 photos + 1 video)

The exhibition features 600 photographs, films, magazines, paintings, sculptures and other works of art from naturist communities.





The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations in Marseille, France, invites visitors to explore their attitudes toward naturism by viewing works of art naked, except for their shoes.



Clothed-faced visitors are welcome at Naturist Paradises one evening a month — as long as they wear shoes. Eric Stephanout, a spokesman for the French naturist organization FFN, said there was no objection to bare feet, but insisting on shoes was a precaution against the museum's parquet floors.

"It's to avoid splinters," he said.

The exhibition features 600 photographs, films, magazines, paintings, sculptures and other works of art from naturist communities and public and private collections in France and Switzerland.

"France is the world's leading naturist tourist destination: its temperate climate and three seas have fostered communities that - with the exception of Switzerland - have few real parallels elsewhere in Europe, where naturism is practiced more freely, outside of established communities," the museum said in a statement.



Kieren Parker-Hall and Alex Parry were among 80 naked visitors and said seeing the exhibition in the nude was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity.

"There aren't many places in England for naturists. Being naked in this country is seen as a bit weird and shameful," said Parker-Hall, 28, a web developer from Bath, England.



The publication notes that the exhibition will last until December 9.