Nick Cave makes his Soundsuits from cast-off goods and clothing scavenged from thrift stores, flea markets, auctions, and art fairs. Drawing on his experience as both fiber artist and dancer, he assembles each suit with attention to both design and function. While the Soundsuits can work as freestanding sculptures, Cave intends for them to be worn. He has staged numerous events in which the Soundsuits become moveable collages of material and history, each "enacted" by a performer who takes on its unique character. In its fusion of fiber textile art, performance, and found objects, Cave's Soundsuit has been described as lavish and shamanistic. Indeed, it is a larger-than-life mash-up of African tribal ceremonial dress, carnival costumes, and hand-made elements that carries and conveys the (absent) wearer's physical energy.