[KarlMalone]

Flashes of genius: the wild world of the naked Neo Naturists

“We were into being provocative and causing confusion,” says Christine Binnie of the Neo Naturists. “There was never any titillation in our being naked. It was more, ‘Here we are nude with our big bosoms and tummies. Take it or leave it.’”

The Neo Naturists – Christine, her sister Jennifer and Wilma Johnson – were part of the nascent London nightclub scene in the early 1980s, a flamboyant fixture of its nocturnal demimonde. They would perform in clubs as well as galleries, or simply turn up at art openings in the nude save for a coating of body paint. “They just popped up everywhere, whether invited or not,” says film-maker John Maybury, who shared a Fitzrovia squat with Christine and Jennifer. “They were part of the underground scene and they certainly livened it up.”