2002 Dimensions variable 13 lithograph prints with spot varnish presented in a black cloth portfolio box with debossed title lettering (81 x 68 x 4 cm) Edition of 50 + 10 APs Hand signed, numbered and dated on the back Published by M W Projects, London In 2002 Tim and Sue embarked on one of their spookiest and most uncommercial series of works, the Black Magic Paintings. This strange group of thirteen paintings was inspired by the depraved life of two of Britain’s most notorious serial murderers, Fred and Rose West. The title of the series derives from the name of the bar that Fred installed in a bedroom of their modest house in Gloucester, close to where Tim spent his childhood. A wrought-iron sign reading “Black Magic” which Fred made during one of his stints in prison hung above the improvised bar. Perhaps the unusual detour into the twisted world of Fred and Rose West was an attempt by Tim and Sue to reconnect with the outlaw and outcast roots of their aesthetic inspiration. Fred and Rose West are as outlaw and outcast as one can get, way beyond the bikers and punk rockers who inspired Tim and Sue in their formative years. Noble and Webster immersed themselves in the most anti-aesthetic source they could find for aesthetic inspiration. Perhaps Tim and Sue’s dark obsession with Fred and Rose had something to do with the whispered story that Fred used to do handyman work for one of Tim’s mother’s friends. Like a number of depraved killers, including the American mass murderer John Wayne Gacy, Jr., Fred West made art. Tim and Sue were intrigued by the matchstick house that Fred made in prison, and even more fascinated by the “paintings” that he made on the plates of food that he served his children for breakfast. His favourite motif was a happy face made with two fried eggs for eyes and a sausage for the mouth. Fred’s tool kit, in which he took great pride, contained tools that were used interchangeably for murder and craft. Tim and Sue installed their series of Black Magic Paintings in the entrance foyer of their new studio. Above the door they hung a wrought-iron sign reading 'Black Magic'. Extract from Black Magic, Jeffrey Dietch 2006
