Picture The Vampire’s Wife: Susie Cave On Her Intimate New Photography Book, SUSIE

Arriving next week (16 September), SUSIE is Dominique Issermann’s photographic love letter to the woman she has documented for decades, paired with Nick Cave’s lyrical reflections spanning from their first meeting in 1997 to now. It is a testimony to motherhood, loss, transformation and the strength of a creative partnership built on devotion. On publication day, Susie Cave will join Bella Freud on stage at Cadogan Hall as part of Chelsea Arts Festival, delving into all of this and more. Below, C&TH sits down with Susie for the preview.

Q&A: Susie Cave

‘I don’t enjoy having my photograph taken, but somehow Dominique makes you forget the camera is there.’ (Villa Lina, Italy 2008 © Dominique Issermann)

This book is titled simply SUSIE. What does it feel like to present something centred on you alone?

It is a great honour to have a book bearing my name. But, really, it isn’t just about me, it is about the love that has existed between us over so many years, and mostly the fragility and beauty of life. My name may be on the cover, but the heart of the book belongs to all of us.

Dominique Issermann has photographed you across decades as a close friend of your family. How does it feel to be documented so intimately by someone who knows you rather than sees you from the outside?

Dominique is wonderfully stealthy and has the sharpest eye. That side of me is only ever really seen by Nick, our children, Dominique and the people closest to me. I don’t enjoy having my photograph taken, but somehow Dominique makes you forget the camera is there.

‘The photographs I love most are the ones of Nick and me with our children.’ (Brighton, 2016 © Dominique Issermann)

(Villa Lina, Italy 2008 © Dominique Issermann)

(Villa Lina, Italy 2008 © Dominique Issermann)

The photographs span such a long period of your life – mother, wife, designer, collaborator. Is there a photograph where you saw yourself in a way you hadn’t before?

The photographs I love most are the ones of Nick and me with our children. Those are the treasures. They hold moments that have quietly disappeared into time, yet somehow remain completely alive.

Nick has written deeply personal texts to accompany these images. What was it like to experience his perspective on your shared life rendered so explicitly on the page?

Nick has an extraordinary ability to put into words what so many of us can only feel.

‘Nick has an extraordinary ability to put into words what so many of us can only feel.’ (Liss Ard, Ireland, 1998 © Dominique Issermann)

What inspired you to open your world in this way?

I think we simply realised that we had this extraordinary archive. Hundreds and hundreds of photographs, quietly collected over decades. Choosing them was almost impossible because every photograph carried its own life.

I’m not even sure whose idea the book was. It seemed to arrive quite organically. Nick and I simply let it happen because Dominique’s photographs have always been among our greatest treasures.

What do you hope readers will take away from SUSIE?

I would love to know how people feel about the book because I honestly don’t know how people will relate to it. Once something leaves your hands it no longer belongs to you.

(Liss Ard, Ireland, 1998 © Dominique Issermann)

‘Once something leaves your hands it no longer belongs to you.’ (Brighton, 2016 © Dominique Issermann)

Susie Cave & Bella Freud In Conversation At Chelsea Arts Festival

On 16 September, 5×15 and Chelsea Arts Festival brings together Susie Cave and fashion designer Bella Freud at Cadogan Hall for an exclusive London evening exploring creativity, style, motherhood and the role beauty and art can play in surviving loss.

• Where? Cadogan Hall (5 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ)
• When? 7pm, Wednesday 16 September 2026
• Tickets: £34.98 + £1 booking fee.

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