Music and fashion will collide in an explosion of contemporary design this month as international fashion label ericaamerica launches an innovative new exhibition at the Western Australian Museum – Perth.

To celebrate the opening of Nick Cave - the exhibition, on tour from the Arts Centre, Melbourne, the WA Museum invited WA based style visionaries ericaamerica to curate a contemporary exhibition inspired by Nick Cave.

A Cave of Wonders: ericaamerica interpret the songs of Nick Cave is a creative fusion of fashion, art and music, motivated by lyrics from the Australian music icon and using pieces from the Museum’s collections.

Acting Chief Executive Officer of the WA Museum Diana Jones said the two exhibitions would offer visitors a unique experience as they both examine contemporary culture in an original context.

“We are thrilled to have ericaamerica presenting such an inventive showcase at the Museum and finding a way to explore alternative perspectives to Museum artefacts as well as connecting with the upcoming exhibition on Nick Cave.

“The Museum is looking to engage with new audiences through both these exhibitions and show how contemporary music, fashion and art play an important role in modern history,” she said.

ericaamerica has selected hidden treasures and relics from the unseen corners of the Museum’s collection and intertwined custom ericaamerica garments and artwork to explore the label's unique vision while responding to the work of Nick Cave.

Erica Wardle, one half of the ericaamerica duo, said the process of integrating modern art with a selection of unusual Museum pieces had been rewarding.

"Our selection process for objects from the archives was inspired by Nick Cave thematically, but our dual mission here was to show the public just a taste of the depth and breadth of the Museum's collection.”

“We wanted to really demonstrate the work put in behind the scenes by the Museum’s curators and researchers who are conservators of a collection of some four million pieces of valuable history," she said.

Lucas Bowers of ericaamerica said, "The launch of both Nick Cave - the exhibition and A Cave of Wonders represent a new approach to contemporary programming for the Western Australian Museum.

“I think people will start to regard and appreciate the work of the Museum as a cultural record in new ways and we are honoured to be a part of this new direction."

Recognised internationally as a cult fashion label, ericaamerica has also been garnering attention in the art world of late, with cross-media, clothing-based diorama installations like Looking Out at the John Curtin Gallery, and most recently the WA contemporary art survey Linden 1968 at St Kilda's Linden Contemporary Arts Centre.

ericaamerica's new work opens in conjunction with Nick Cave - the exhibition, on May 23 and runs until July 19. The installation will occupy the Beaufort Street Foyer area of the Museum directly adjacent to Nick Cave - the exhibition and will be open from 9:30am to 5.00pm daily.

For all media enquiries please contact:

Renee Dodds
Western Australian Museum
T: +61 [08] 9212 3860 M: +61 [0] 417 970 239
renee.dodds@museum.wa.gov.au

Flora Perrella
Western Australian Museum
T. +61 [08] 9212 3856 M: +61 [0] 424 027 646
flora.perrella@museum.wa.gov.au