Nick Cave

A·mal·gam, 2022

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 and replaced, spurred by Black Lives Matter protestors and community organizing, empty plinths are left as hopeful spaces, creating room to reckon with history and revise narratives. A·mal·gam offers a new monument: one that envisions true liberation and celebration. Nick Cave sees the sculpture as a manifestation of the divine spirit, steeped in the past and memory, yet exiting and fueling the present moment in service of our collective futures. The colossal sculpture acts as a community beacon, signifying the power of each of us as unique individuals connected and defined by our differences. Incorporating cast bronze vintage floral toile and ceramic bird figurines, which envelope the body in a protective aura of history, memory, honesty, and rebirth, the monumental human form is firmly rooted in the earth, growing from the soil.