Tim Noble and Sue Webster are artists based in England This piece was Inspired by the British Museum’s Egyptian collections, they have painstakingly placed junk to produced a unique silhouette. A simple spotlight transforms a heap of mummified creatures into two silhouettes of the artists' faces.
Tim Noble and Sue Webster’s use of animals echoes that of their Egyptian predecessors. Ancient Egyptians believed that gods could take the form of animals. Cats, dogs, birds and other creatures which were bred to be mummified, then sold to pilgrims who offered them back to the gods.

'Tim’s mum bought some kittens three years ago. The cats started bringing in their prey almost every day. We collected their remains in a box marked with a skull and crossbones, which we called 'Dead Things'. Soon we had a few hundred rotting creatures – mice, rats, voles, even a squirrel and a toad. Walking through the British Museum, we were struck by the Egyptians’ use of mummification, their obsession with animals and animal parts, and how good at sculpture they were. And suddenly we knew what to do with our mummified animals!'

sue



14.01.2010.21:57http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/all_current_exhibitions/statuephilia/noble_and_webster.aspx

Their most notable pieces are made from piles of rubbish collected from London streets. A light is projected against the pile of rubbish, and the shadow on the wall creates an entirely different image.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster
Dirty White Trash [With Gulls] 1998
Six months' worth of the artists' rubbish
Variable dimensions