Kuopio, Finland - On the bright Nordic night at 3:00 AM on Saturday, nearly 1,000 naked people streamed into the streets and beaches of Kuopio in central Finland – all for an unusual art project set up by a US photographer!

As loudspeakers filled the night with instructions, the nude participants prepared to strike poses for the American Spencer Tunick, acclaimed for his art featuring unclothed crowds.

"Today the land of 1,000 lakes has been retitled the land of 1,000 nudes," Tunick told AFP.

Starting in the parks of central Kuopio, the photo shoot unfolded as the naked participants occupied the paved pathways surrounding vibrant flower installations.

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Then the crowd moved to the rocky beaches of the lake that envelops the city, with some participants laying naked on the rocks halfway in the water.

"I wanted to connect the body to Kuopio and the lakelands of northern Finland," the artist explained.

Tunick expressed his gratitude to the participants who made his artistic vision possible.

"It’s a very rare thing for the public to become part of the process of creation," he added.

In November, thousands stripped naked on Sydney's iconic Bondi beach for Tunick's art installation aimed at raising awareness about skin cancer and sun safety.

The photographer also made headlines in 2016 when more than a hundred women stripped and posed naked with mirrors in Cleveland, answering the photographer's call to blend art with politics and portray Donald Trump as unfit for the White House.