Wallworks (21C Chicago), 2020

A Facility Artwork by Nick Cave and Bob Faust
12-color digitally printed vinyl
Dimensions vary
Collection of 21C Hotels

As a way to bring the energy and impetus of Nick Cave’s artwork outside of traditional museum walls, Cave in collaboration with his design partner Bob Faust have created 16 floors of bespoke Wallworks. Each is a diptych of two complimentary patterns that are designed from individual detail photos from Cave’s iconic Soundsuits. Each photo was chosen for formal reasons like color and composition, but also to showcase the variety of materials Cave uses in his Soundsuits, such as synthetic hair, sequined fabric, buttons and vintage toile. The patterns themselves are designed to convey the the performative aspects of the practice that are difficult to capture in still photography. When tasked with activating the elevator lobbies throughout 21C Chicago, Cave and Faust quickly conceived of each landing as part of a portal system to define and make memorable each embarkation and debarkation.