PAST

Lighter than clay or bamboo and less expensive than silk or parchment, paper is one of humanity’s humblest but most profound inventions. From the first century to the present and from ancient Asia to Europe and contemporary Arabia, Stories of Paper examines the rich artistic legacy of this fragile material that not only became indispensable for record keeping and trade but has proved essential to cultural interaction and intellectual exchange for two millennia.

Created in partnership with the Musée du Louvre and in collaboration with France-Muséums as well as several leading international institutions and private collections, Stories of Paper explores the special material’s qualities: uniquely suited to recording, remembering and re-production, paper manages to be simultaneously fragile and malleable, light-sensitive and resilient.

Images courtesy of Noora Alzaabi and the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi