“A winter day suddenly came your way
And you ran into your mind”
Take a walk through the mind of Nick Cave. The journey is a bit weird, a bit voyeuristic, and still leaves a fair chunk of mystery. On show at the National Library is an enormous collection of ephemera from a creative life.
From photos of the young Nick as a choir boy in Warracknabeal, to scribbled song lyrics, to messy pen drawings of naked ladies, to old band posters and well worn notebooks, this show has it all. There are also several short videos, spoken memories, many photographs and lots of objects – religious and otherwise. There is even a bookshelf of his favorite books.
Many of the objects on their own are ordinary, but put together they signpost a life lived within the Australian music scene. There are about five rooms filled with exhibits, from the personal to the professional. Posed family photographs show Nick Cave the family man, while grimy notebooks with scribbled thoughts, and budding song lyrics show another.
Cave himself says: “Much of this stuff has sat around in boxes for years and the process of ‘excavating’ it has been many things – moving, disturbing, inspiring and downright terrifying.”
Nick Cave: the Exhibition is from 9am til 5pm daily at the National Library until November 29. Free entry.
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