CHICAGO-based contemporary artist Nick Cave poses for a photograph against the backdrop of his spectacular first exhibition in Europe, being held at the Tramway in Glasgow

Until is said to be Cave’s most ambitious project to date. Occupying Tramway’s main gallery, the exhibition is a massive immersive installation made up of thousands of found objects and millions of beads designed to make viewers feel as if they have entered a rich sensory tapestry.

The experience is said to be akin to stepping directly inside the belly of one of the iconic Soundsuits for which Cave is best known.

They are compelling and ornate figurative sculptures that can be worn and performed.

The exhibition contains 16,000 wind spinners; thousands of ceramic objects; more than 10 miles of crystals; 24 chandeliers; one crocodile; and 17 cast-iron lawn jockeys (racist souvenirs from America’s Jim Crow era).

For Until’s sumptuous materiality also gives way to stark images, referencing complex issues of gun violence, racial profiling and gender politics that currently divide the United States, and the extension of these matters in communities around the world.

Until will function as an alternative town hall, becoming a gathering space for community events, performance and discussion throughout the duration of the exhibition, which runs from today until November 24.