Nick Cave is a performance artist born in 1959 in Fulton, Missouri, who express himself through mediums he has created. In a world of racial and gender discrimination, this visionary has found a unique way to empower individuals using Soundsuits: wearable sculptures made from an array of materials, including, sequins, dyed hair, fabric, beads, sisal, twigs and feathers. Soundsuits are dubbed as such from the unique sounds the shell makes when the wearer moves.
Looking at these fascinating creations forces the viewers out of their heads so that they have no choice but to look at them with a perspective free of judgement. Nick Cave’s inspiration comes from not only from a dark place of his own experiences, but the desire to camouflage the body, giving the wearers of the Soundsuits a new identity free of race, gender, or class discrimination.
The first Soundsuit that Nick Cave ever created was in response to the Rodney King beatings in 1992. He wanted to understand what it was like to be discarded, and started collecting twigs around the park that could convey that emotion. He took them all to to his studio, and what resulted was what he describes as his “sculpture performative work.”
The soundsuits are all built around a single object, or the instigator, on which he expands until they take on their completed form. Many of the materials are objects he finds at flea markets and antique malls. He explains that he is often building in the moment when he is shopping, and simply finding one object can tie into an entire project that he hasn’t even started yet. Because these objects are often nostalgic, they create an atmosphere of familiarity for the public.
However, the Soundsuits aren’t just sculptural work; they are also performance art. Cave regularly employs the help of dancers and choreographers to integrate the Soundsuits into community celebrations or festivals. This not only gets people to better appreciate the arts but engage in them as well. As the creator, he himself commonly takes part in wearing the sculptures and performing in them, opening up their full potential as living art and costume.
Cave strives not only in creating a dream-like state for his audience, but to make his art a form of diplomacy that addresses issues in our current society, such as the police brutality against unarmed black men.
I think one of the most unique things about Nick Caves work is that’s free from definition. He doesn’t need to draw any of his works beforehand or have a full picture in mind. He’s constantly in a state of experimentation, and merely improvises and lives in the moment through what feels right. Despite having a network of ten full-time assistants to help him with the Soundsuits, he will always do the first project by himself. Cave describes his work as meditative, which is beautiful in correlation with the end result. When you see the Soundsuits, you can tell their is a deep bevy of meaning and thought behind them.
