Nick Cave: A·mal·gam

In a new series entitled, A·mal·gams, Cave is creating super-sized bronze Soundsuit sculptures. The largescale works act as community beacons to celebrate race and form community, signifying the power of each of us as unique individuals defined by our differences. Incorporating vintage floral toile and ceramic bird figurines that envelope the body in a protective aura of history, memory, honesty, and rebirth, the monumental human-based forms are firmly rooted in the earth, growing from the soil.

Across the United States, public statues have been built to reinforce and perpetuate white supremacy as symbols of the Confederacy, slavery, and racism. In recent months, as monuments have been toppled by Black Lives Matter protestors, empty plinths are left as hopeful spaces, creating room to reckon with history and revise narratives. A·mal·gams offer a new monument: one that envisions true liberation and celebration. Cave sees the sculptures as a manifestation of the divine spirit, steeped in the past, yet exiting the present moment in service of our collective futures.