With themes of togetherness and spreading joy throughout the city, artist Nick Cave brings a sense of community to Boston with “Augment,” a three-part project with public art agency Now + There that will combine artwork, performances and workshops throughout the city’s South End neighborhood.
“I think that even within the train wreck of it all, we still have to find devices, mechanisms to cope and to exist with one another,” said Cave in a statement. “So, I’m hoping to utilize the space…to convene, to bring the community together, to talk about difficult things.”
The collaboration known as Joy++ began in August in a very festive way, with Cave’s work being paraded around through the streets of Boston. The first part of “Augment” is currently draped from the ceiling of the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts. The installation will be on view through September 13 and consists of over 1000 inflatable ornaments sewn together—ornaments like the ones you would typically see on a neighbor’s front lawn during the holidays. Via fans and suspensions, the incredibly colorful and vibrant collection of cultural touchstones and images, deflate and inflate, breathing life into the space while hovering above.
