NOT RED, 2026
C-type print on Fuji crystal archive (gloss) paper
30 x 40 cm (11.8 x 15.8 inches)
About the work
You cannot believe your eyes.
NOT RED continues Stuart Semple’s long-running exploration into perception, colour, and the fragile relationship between what we see and what we believe we see. At first glance, the image appears unmistakably red: a familiar soda can glowing against a striped background. Yet there is no red present anywhere in the print. The work exploits the brain’s extraordinary tendency to complete missing information, constructing colour from context, memory, and expectation rather than objective reality. In doing so, Semple turns a simple optical illusion into something far more psychologically loaded.
By replacing the iconic branding with the word “FAKE”, the work shifts from visual experiment into cultural metaphor. The image becomes a meditation on assumption, suggestion, and the speed at which the human mind fills gaps with its own version of truth. Much like misinformation or collective hysteria, the viewer experiences something vividly and emotionally despite the evidence not actually existing in front of them. Semple’s interest lies precisely in this unstable territory between perception and fact: the uneasy realisation that our eyes, memories, and convictions are often collaborative fictions authored by the brain itself.
Printed as a high-quality C-type on Fuji Gloss paper in a limited edition of 50, NOT RED sits somewhere between pop image, neurological experiment, and contemporary cultural critique. It is a work that demands to be seen in person because even once the illusion is understood, the mind refuses to let go of the colour it knows is not there.
Materials & process
Each collector will receive a numbered and facsimile signed print.
About the artist
Stuart Semple b.1980 UK
Stuart Semple is a multidisciplinary British artist whose practice spans painting, performance, internet art, and installation. His works adopt a sociological lens to explore themes of youth politics, mass culture, image, technology, and anxiety. Often activist in nature, his broader projects frequently strive for fairness, equality, and access, particularly within the arts.
Semple has enjoyed numerous solo exhibitions worldwide and has presented projects at international institutions, including the Denver Art Museum, The Whitworth, Hong Kong Arts Center, and Dulwich Picture Gallery. He is the author of "Make Art or Die Trying," published by Quarto. Semple regularly speaks on art and mental health, with appearances at Oxford University, The Southbank Centre, Frieze, RCA, and the ICA
Authenticity & Rights
Every artwork is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity
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