Naked Performance Art 2015 – Philemon Mukarno’s Bold Exploration of Nudity

ReBirth: Awakening through Naked Truth

In 2015, naked performance reached profound new heights. “ReBirth” in Rotterdam carved space for transformation. Onstage, skin met air, and the past fell away. Every movement by Mukarno and collaborator Neus Kaori Fornós Ohnuma pulsed with the urgency of new beginnings. Here, nudity symbolized renewal. Each body became a vessel for ancient truths, courageously exposed to the world. Through vulnerability, audiences journeyed toward spiritual reawakening and empathic connection.

Ritual of Muertos: The Naked Dialogue with Death

Transitioning gently, “Muertos” explored the thin line between presence and absence. The naked body, neither ashamed nor adorned, became a medium for mourning and remembrance. Close proximity to the audience dissolved barriers, fostering a shared ritual. In this act, nudity unraveled the conventional, inviting everyone to witness the intimate bond between loss and release. Death, once forbidden, was embraced as part of the cycle of being human.

Storm: Unleashing Raw Energy

Next, “Storm,” a collaboration with John Giskes, embraced the chaos of nature and feeling. Nakedness magnified every emotion. Movement onstage was wild, pure, unguarded—no words needed. Transition words connected the story and sensation. Chaos and calm existed side by side. The storm, internal and external, revealed that to undress is also to unleash—to meet turbulence not with armor, but with softness and strength.

Saturn 3S90: Where Spirit Meets Machine

Finally, “Saturn 3S90” at Bolnes Dockyard fused nakedness with technology and space. Amid industrial surroundings, Mukarno and an ensemble of dancers and sound artists charted new territory. Bodies, bathed in shifting light, dialogued with machinery and music. This bold interplay of flesh and electronic element forged a sensory universe. Nakedness, again, served as a conduit. The boundaries between human and cosmos, spiritual and mechanical, began to blur.

Naked Performance as Invitation

All four performances in 2015 challenged and comforted, unsettling and then uniting. Through nudity, Mukarno led every witness deeper into the present—past conventions, past fear, into raw truth.

These experiments with naked performance redefined what it means to be vulnerable and free. Each act was an invitation to step out of old skins and into genuine presence.