A new book exploring the life and creative presence of Susie Cave is set to arrive later this year, bringing together the work of four acclaimed collaborators closely connected to her world – including Nick Cave.
Australian publisher Thames & Hudson has acquired SUSIE, a visual and lyrical portrait of Susie created with contributions from Nick, renowned French photographer Dominique Issermann, and celebrated Dutch book designer Irma Boom.
The hardback book will be released in September with a $69.99 price tag.
The project traces the many dimensions of Susie Cave through images and words gathered across decades. Issermann, a close friend of the Cave family, has photographed Susie for more than 30 years, first working with her during her modelling career in the ’80s and ’90s before continuing to document her life and relationship with Nick Cave.
The resulting collection captures a shifting portrait of Susie across time, from the early days of her relationship with the musician in the late ’90s through to more intimate moments within family life.
Alongside Issermann’s photography, the book incorporates reflections and lyrical fragments from Nick Cave, offering a deeply personal account of the couple’s enduring partnership.
The project also explores themes of love, creativity and resilience, touching on the joys and tragedies experienced within the Cave family, including the loss of their son. According to the publisher, the book presents an intimate visual record that had largely remained private until now.
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“This is a book about love, in all its shades,” Nick and Susie Cave said in a joint statement announcing the project. The pair credited Issermann with quietly documenting their relationship over decades, allowing them to tell what they describe as a personal story of family, transformation and enduring friendship.
Tristan de Lancey, creative director of Thames & Hudson, described the project as a deeply moving work combining personal recollections with photography that charts an extraordinary shared life.
‘As a lifelong fan of Nick and Susie, it is an absolute privilege to publish a book of such importance to them,” he said. “With personal recollections as moving as the photographs themselves, it is a gem of a book, appropriately conceived and realised, and one which will captivate their many fans.”
