Genetologic Research

Tim Noble & Sue Webster
Real Life Is Rubbish, 2002

Tim Noble and Sue Webster. Partners in both life and art, Tim Noble (1966) and Sue Webster (1967) explore the toxic influences of consumer culture through new modes of portraiture. Turning garbage into complex and visually arresting sculptural installations, Noble and Webster exploit, manipulate and transform base materials, often using self-portraiture to undermine the “celebrated” authorship of the artist.

Dead White Trash (With Gulls), 1998, one of their earliest garbage pieces, is six months’ worth of peanut butter jars, soup cans, and other stuff from their kitchen rubbish can, plus a pair of dead seagulls. That it was the same six months it took to make the piece is more than a cute conceit. “As we were making it, we were eating and consuming,” says Noble. On the wall, the shadow figures of the artists take a break with a cigarette and a glass of wine. Real Life Is Rubbish, a recent work, is constructed from studio trash. “All our old tools,” explains Webster. “I was using a screwdriver, and it made my nose look great, so I used it. So we eventually ran out of tools.”

Dirty White Trash (With Gulls), 1998

Diet Wiegman
Regarded from two sides, 1984

Shadow sculpture ©Diet Wiegman 1984

This entry was posted on woensdag, maart 26th, 2008 at 18:32 and is filed under Archaeology, Ecology, Garbology, Visual Arts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.