Nick Cave: Boxfolio, 2006

9.5" x 13.25" x 2.25"
Essay by Greg Cameron

The archive is commonly understood to be a quiet, sober and scholarly place. Researchers, however, often experience the archive as a site for revelation, insight and treasure-finding. Soundsuits Boxfolio (2006) revels in the adventurous aspect of the archive by providing a celebration in a box. Its objects call forth creativity and playfulness. Accompanying a series of exhibitions of Nick Cave's multimedia work, the boxfolio captures the attitude of the artist's Soundsuits -- body-sized sculptures made from scavenged and vernacular materials. When worn and performed, the Soundsuits would make a noticeable and joyful sound, much like one would experience at a carnival or parade. The boxfolio, designed by Bob Faust, contains a catalogue that tethers it to Cave's exhibitions, but the other elements offer the makings for a glamorous party. All one has to provide are the people and music, and fun will naturally follow. 

An emphasis on fun serves a strategic purpose. If archives stem from trauma and mortality, as Jacques Derrida and others theorize, what compels one to continue working in them? The Soundsuits, as festive as they appear on the surface, embody Cave's intuitive coping to the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers in 1991. The suits' party sensibility directly counters racism and victimization, and center themselves in healing. Likewise, the multisensory engagement and vitality of the boxfolio incorporate the attitude of the Soundsuits, reflect the archive's capacity for humor, and invoke survival and flourishing as tactics of resistance.