Exsqueeze me! Pole dancer taking part in nude Royal Academy of Art exhibition says embarrassed visitors have resorted to APOLOGISING when squeezing past naked performers

A pole dancer taking part in a controversial new art exhibition has told how embarrassed visitors apologized as they squeezed past the naked bodies of performers.

Rowena Gander is one of around forty performers made up of dancers, performers and actors who will strip naked as part of Marina Abramovic’s exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts.

In one performance, a naked man and woman face each other, blocking the way for visitors who must navigate past them.

Liverpool-based Rowena described her work as ‘an hour-long performance where we look at each other with a partner as people pass through our naked bodies, as if it were a door to art’.

She said: ‘I have already had many interesting observations of the audience’s interaction with the work.

In one performance, a naked man and woman face each other blocking the way for visitors who must navigate past them (photo above Rowena Gander, left, with performance partner Kieram Corrin Mitchell, right, as a visitor tries to navigate past them wring them)

Liverpool-based Rowena, a passionate pole dancer (pictured above) described her work at the exhibition as ‘a one-hour performance of mutual gazing with a partner as people pass through our naked bodies, as if it were a door to art’

“The most important thing last night, at the launch, was that people apologised.”

Commenting on her Instagram post, one follower wrote: ‘So British… Haha.’

Rowena – who performs alongside dancer Kieram Corrin Mitchell – describes herself as a performer, choreographer and instructor who creates ‘experimental, thought-provoking work through contemporary pole dance fusion’.

She has previously performed at Secret Circus, Miss Pole Dance UK 2017, the Las Vegas Pole Expo and the Blackpool Pole Dance Championships.

Rowena takes part in the hour-long performance Imponderabilia, which is performed up to six times a day as part of the exhibition.

She said of the experience: “I learn so much about myself and others when I do this work.

“After about 30 minutes, I feel like I can see their soul.”

She takes part in two other performances at the exhibition.

In one, a naked woman sits in a crucifix pose suspended from a wall-mounted bicycle saddle, while in the second the artist lies naked under a skeleton for about two hours.

Rowena said she had undergone ‘intensive endurance and performance training’ in preparation for the three months of ‘challenging and vigorous’ performances.

Another performer doing the same three works is Agata Flaminika, who describes herself as ‘a multidisciplinary artist based in Cornwall’.

She said: ‘I have already had many interesting observations of the audience’s interaction with the work. The most important one last night, at the launch, was that people apologised’

Rowena (pictured pole dancing) describes herself as a performer, choreographer and instructor who creates ‘experimental, thought-provoking work through contemporary pole dancing fusion’.

Rowena will take part in the hour-long performance Imponderabilia (pictured above with two other performers as a woman tries to squeeze through), which will be performed up to six times a day as part of the exhibition

Rowena said of the experience (pictured above with two different artists): ‘I learn so much about myself and others when I perform this work. After about 30 minutes I feel like I can see their souls’

Another artist stripping off for the same three works is Agata Flaminika (pictured above at an art performance), who describes herself as ‘a multidisciplinary artist based in Cornwall’.

She has previously posted photos on social media of herself covered in paint (pictured above) and performing nude outdoors

Visitors to the Royal Academy of Arts’ next exhibition opening this weekend, which includes a naked woman strapped into a crucifix pose, will have to squeeze past a naked man and woman to enter (as pictured above)

She has previously posted photos on social media of herself covered in paint and performing naked in the open air.

In one, she complained about how footage from a performance documenting the female body and nature was removed after it violated Instagram’s guidelines on nudity.

She wrote: ‘It’s really sad and frustrating how social media censors female bodies, especially in relation to the vulgar, over-sexualized portrayal in mass media.

“There should be no shame in looking at the naked body.”

She said she was “absolutely honored and excited” about appearing in the exhibition, where she will perform alongside Kam Wan, a US-based artist, model and actor.

The exhibition, which opens this weekend, is curated by controversial artist Marina Abramović (pictured), who previously invited visitors to slit her throat for a new art exhibition.