Paper Democracy, an exhibition put together under the curatorship of Gerard Hemsworth and co-sponsored by the British Council, brings together more than 100 prints by 21 internationally renowned artists currently working in the UK who have opted to include editions on paper in their art output.

The artists are Peter Blake, Victor Burgin, Anthony Caro, Patrick Caulfield, Nigel Cooke, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Tony Cragg, Michael Craig-Martin, Peter Doig, Richard Hamilton, Siobhán Hapaska, Damien Hirst, Gary Hume, Bruce Mclean, Brendan Neiland, Julian Opie, Eduardo Paolozzi, Simon Patterson, Gavin Turk, Gillian Wearing and Catherine Yass.

From this heterogeneous mix of artists representing different generations and diverse ideological and artistic positions, some are best known for their painting, others for sculpture and yet others for their work with video and installations. At this exhibition, however, they are all united in their use of the same format, the most democratic of all: paper.

Increasingly, contemporary artists are producing representative pieces in the form of original prints, making it easier for their work to circulate and bringing more people into contact with it. This means that a given piece may simultaneously be part of a museum collection and a private collection.

At a time when electronic communication is leading the way, spreading information more easily and allowing for greater democratic participation, Paper Democracy serves to remind us that even today paper is still the most common, most easily accessible format for the image, word and idea, circulating without the financial, social and physical constraints to which electronic information systems are bound.

Paper Democracy
Centro Brasileiro Britânico
Rua Ferreira de Araújo, 741
São Paulo
From 22 September to 30 December