SACRIFICIAL HEART

About

Sacrificial Heart is a large, rotating sculpture of a bleeding heart studded with hundreds of flashing coloured lights. Here, the archetypal Christian emblem fuses with the classic tattoo of rock n' roll and/biker iconography in a mesmerizing display that pulsates with light. This sculpture is the first three dimensional free-standing sculpture which rotates. This work marks the 10th anniversary of the iconic wall-piece, Toxic Schizophrenia (1997). Duality lies at its core: romance and pain, love and hate, veneration and aversion, fidelity and betrayal, sympathy and disbelief, male and female. Its spectacular nature fuses highbrow art with lowbrow kitsch. The riotous flashing lights recall the nightscapes of Las Vegas and the fairgrounds of Blackpool and other British seaside resorts., transforming the vitrine gallery into a playful yet reflective space.

Throughout their career, Noble and Webster have created innovative and visually seductive comments on the narcissistic nature of consumer society. Finding inspiration in pop culture and advertising, they have created a series of spectacular animated light displays. By contrast, their "rubbish," or shadow, sculptures are brought to life by projecting a single light source over a carefully arranged pile of domestic household waste ' literally shining a light upon the discarded residue of conspicuous consumption. Drawing on punk and popular culture, Noble and Webster have challenged the conventional career path of the artist, utilizing different media to tease out new relations between spectacle, conceptual gravity, and pure entertainment.