London, 4 December 2022: British rock band Placebo is releasing a limited edition 7-inch vinyl featuring versions of Tears For Fears' "Shout" and Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill". The limited edition, titled "Placebo Paint", was designed by English artistic genius Stuart Semple. The record changes colour in different lighting conditions from a deep purple to black to a shimmering blue. 

Stuart Semple is an outstanding contemporary British artist who first became known in 2009 for his art project "Happy Clouds" and is now also primarily known in the media as a "pigment activist". He was the first artist to raise the issue of intellectual property rights to a colour. Thus, he led an online battle with Anish Kapoor, the English artist who secured the rights to the so-called "Vantablack" for a high sum of millions. In the corporate world, colour patenting is common, but in the art world, Stuart Simple and his colleagues found this act uncollegial and monopolising. Also, since pure black had always been used by the great masters.

Stuart Simple continued his passionate struggle for colour and now combined it with his love of music. Using techniques he developed himself, Stuart Semple has created a completely new colour, named "Placebo". The "Placebo" colour changes colour before the viewer's eyes in different lighting conditions and transforms from a deep violet to black to a shimmering blue.

In addition to the new "Placebo" paint, Semple has also created an original painting in acrylic and charcoal on canvas titled "Shout", which will serve as the cover artwork for the limited edition record cover. The artist describes it as a physical concept designed to allow people to interact with the packaging and literally extend the shout.

Alethea Magazine: Can you articulate for our readers your message with your latest artwork Placebo x Stuart Semple? 

Stuart Semple: Sure, so our collaboration focused on their new record 'Shout', a cover of the iconic Tears For Fears track. 

I hope that the artwork and the record we made is something that inspires the audience to think a bit about how we express emotions. 

The whole thing is about not leaving things bottled up inside. I hope that comes across in the painting and the sleeve I made. I think the idea of making a special paint together is a really direct way for others to express themselves. 

Have you always felt inspired by Placebo and painted to their music?

I've been a huge fan of the band since I was a teenager. Brian's lyrics have inspired so many paintings over the years. I think more than anything whilst I was at art school Placebo gave me permission to be myself. 

How would you describe this shade and how and where is it actually made? 

The paint is a very special formulation that reflects different coloured lights at different angles. I wanted to try and bottle the emotion of the band, so what comes out is this pristine bruise like colour, that seems to morph between black, blue and a deep purple. I hope it captures the essence of how the music makes me feel. 

Where did your love of colour tones come from? 

I've always been really affected by colour. I saw a Van Gogh at the National Gallery when I was 8 and since then I've become more and more obsessed with different colours, and ways to make my own paint to use in my works. 

Is The Paint: Placebo actually meant to be used and how do you think the buyers will use the paint? 

I hope it's used and people make work with it, but at the same time, I'd like to think that the way we designed the packaging and everything, it's an art multiple in its own right that you could put on a shelf and enjoy as an object. 

What emotions would you like your new colour creation to have on its buyers? 

I suppose it's quite melancholic, romantic, and slightly angry but there's a glamour underneath all that. 

——————

Alongside the vinyl, Semple and Placebo have produced 1000 limited edition 100ml bottles of the 'Placebo' paint, available for £49.99. Each of the limited edition bottles is handmade in Semple's studio. Each bottle comes in collector's packaging with an embossed "Placebo" logo in a silver vacuum pack and is individually numbered.

To order at: stuartsemple.com

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