NICK CAVE

Nick Cave

Nick Cave creates wearable works called “Soundsuits” which are made of materials including twigs, hair, fabric, sequins, bottle caps and many types of found objects. These peices are meant to be worn in performance as well as displayed as sculpture. The Soundsuits alter the shape of the body, for example several of them have elongated heads, and when worn the layers of objects and materials produce sound in response to the movements of the body. Cave deals with race, particularly the experiences of African American men, and the Soundsuits act as an obstacle, a barrier between the wearer and society, as well as being protective. They are very beautiful but at the same time a burden. I have an interest in costuming and the way it affects the appearance and movement of the body that I have explored in the past year, in the form of a shed “skin” raincoat, a unicorn suit with tree stumps for hooves, and a wig made of book pages folded into fanciful shapes. “Nick Cave- Art in Motion” is a youtube video that shows some of the suits in motion with sounds.