Soundsuit

This remarkable work is part of a series by Nick Cave that makes sound when worn and activated, presenting a means of escape from daily existence into a mode of liberating fantasy. Cave’s soundsuits, originally conceived in 1992 in response to the Rodney King beating and subsequent Los Angeles riots, also offer a secondary skin, a form of protective armor that transcends identity, place, and time. Soundsuit’s dazzling sequins, buttons, and bristles, with their accompanying swishing and clinking, challenge both wearers and observers to move beyond human appearances and toward a more productive “dream state.” Of his work, Cave has stated: “I was really thinking of getting us back to this dream state, this place where we imagine and think about now and how we exist and function in the world.”