A prolific artist who works in sculpture, installation, video, sound, and performance, Nick Cave is most often associated with his Soundsuits. He created the first of these ornate garments in 1991, in response to the deep uncertainty and vulner- ability he felt as a Black man after the police beating of Rodney King and subsequent Los Angeles uprising (Mercer 2012, 122–123). The suits encompass the whole body, including the face, which is obscured by a miter-like headpiece. By creating a second skin that conceals any visual markers of race, gender, or class, Cave forces the viewer to look without judgment and allows the wearer to inhabit the world free from social classifiers.

The Soundsuits, functioning much like coats of armor, call attention to the extreme peril posed to the Black body by structural racism and endemic police brutality. In a 2016 interview with the New York Times, Cave noted: “Innocent until proven guilty, guilty until proven innocent. I’m a black male. The moment I step outside of the privacy of my space, I am viewed differently” (Loos 2016). Cave decorates his suits with found materials such as repurposed fabrics, appliqué sequins, and beads—sumptuous details that belie the pieces’ armorial purpose. Although the Soundsuits serve an elegiac role, their vibrant explosions of color and sound are also a celebration of Black life. [Janna Keegan, de Young 125]