`I didn't feel naked'.

People who have participated in previous Tunick installations have spoken of their "positive" and "energising" experiences.

Emma Chan, 35, of Twickenham, an investment banker, took part in the event to coincide with the open-ing of the Saatchi Gallery in County Hall, London, when a crowd was pictured lying beside the Thames.

She said: "It was so liberating. I just feel so lucky to be one of the few who did it. At first, when we heard we could go into the party as long as we went nude, we all said no.

"But then, after the photographs had been taken, our adrenalin was running so high that we just went in. a The funny thing was, I didn't feel naked at all."

Mike Grenville, 53, who also took part in the Saatchi event, said it had been a positive experience. "We're all basically the same in different shapes and sizes. Once you have taken all your clothes off, it's a very friendly and communal feeling."

After the event in Place des Arts in Montreal, Canada, Jean-Pierre Leclerq, 41, said: "I feel extremely energised." Another said he didn't feel awkward because: "Once everyone was naked, it didn't really matter that everyone was naked, because everyone was naked."

Charlotte Cooper, who took part in Tunick's Selfridges shoot, said: "We were a mass of naked flesh and we looked as though we'd just been born, full-sized, and plonked in that bizarre environment."

A participant at the Barcelona event said: "The mood in the crowd changed immediately we were naked. a As soon as the clothes dropped and we stood up nude, it became very easy to talk to the person standing next to you. There was an immediate sense of community with everyone there."