Nick Cave

Nick Cave was born in Fulton, Missouri in 1959. For the past twenty-five years, Cave has been creating Soundsuits, the first of which was made in reaction to the police beating of Rodney King in 1992. Fully concealing the body, Cave’s Soundsuits act as empowering costumes that obscure race, gender, and class, allowing viewers to look without bias towards the wearer’s identity. Cave has spoken about the shape of this Soundsuit as one of power—referencing a KKK hood, a missile, or a religious head covering.

The elaborate sculptural forms are based on the scale of the artist’s body. Cave is a trained dancer and regularly performs in the sculptures himself, activating their full potential as a costume, musical instrument, and living icon.