Artists stage naked BP protest at British museum

Not every act of public nakedness is about streaking, hazing, nudist rights, or exhibitionism. For a group of protesters in London this week, it was about politics and art.

Protesting British Petroleum's involvement in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as well as its projects in Canada and the Arctic, eight black-clad members of the group Liberate Tate entered Tate Britain, a London art gallery. One young man stripped naked, handed his clothes to the others, and lay on the floor in a fetal position. Two protesters with veiled faces then used BP-marked oil cans to pour an oil-like substance over the the youth's nude body.

According to stories in Bloomberg and the Telegraph, the group chose Tate Britain because it has received more than £1 million ($1.6 million) from BP, which also heavily supports other British art institutions. Liberate Tate wants that support to end.

In an email release, Liberate Tate member Peter McDonnell called the action both a work of art and “a very dramatic statement of the impact that BP is having on human lives and communities around the world.”

McDonnell noted that the substance poured over the naked protester was “olive oil in a suspension of charcoal,” which can be cleaned up and will not cause damage.