Woman raises Sh920,000 for posing naked on city streets

New York: A photographer took self portraits around the Big Apple to explore a world without clothes.

Erica Simone was photographed in numerous locations including braving the snow, grabbing a bite to eat and taking one of the iconic yellow cabs.

The photographs were taken as part of a project by the French-American photographer, who lives in the city, called Nue York: Self-Portraits of a Bare Urban Citizen.

Armed with just a tripod and adrenaline, she posed all over the city - buying tobacco from a news agent, sitting on the subway, travelling on an aeroplane, and even posing as a homeless person.

In some of the photos, she draws glances from passers by but the artist says she has never got into trouble for exposing herself and gets in and out of the setting quickly.

"I am very quick and cautious, I pay attention to everything and everyone around me and I try to be as discrete as possible and always try to avoid the authorities," she told the Telegraph.

The artist said her intention wasn't to shock, but to explore questions such as “What would the world feel like naked?" and if we could hide our social status by being naked, she says on her website.

The project’s slogan is “Nothing Fits Like You” (#thepowerofnaked) and is a campaign about being comfortable with who you are as a person, with your body, your mind and your role in society.

The photos were taken as part of a crowd-funding project where people are invited to contribute to cover the costs of producing and publishing the book possible.

She has raised more than Sh920,000 so far.