The Mechanical Hand surveys artists’ involvement with print, through the work of Paupers Press fine art print studio.
Specialising in etching, lithography and relief printing, Paupers Press works with many leading contemporary artists producing limited edition and unique prints, books and portfolio collections. The Mechanical Hand includes interviews with artists and essays on the nature of the print within contemporary artistic practice.
The Mechanical Hand includes images of many unique, hand painted and one-off variations from the studio’s archive. Damien Hirst’s butterfly and skull prints, including the 2009 Sanctum and 2007 Momento series of large scale photogravures, Keith Coventry’s 2008 Copper and Silk etchings and prints by Paula Rego, Mat Collishaw and Glenn Brown are featured.
With written contributions from Rachel Whiteread, Bob & Roberta Smith, Cornelia Parker and Grayson Perry to accompany images of their work, an interview with Turner Prize nominated Catherine Yass, along with essays by Martin Herbert on recent projects by Jake & Dinos Chapman and Stephen Chambers, The Mechanical Hand explores the notion of the artists’ print as a means of visualising original thought. As such, The Mechanical Hand is a celebration of the making of the printed multiple as an extension of the hand and mind’s continued interdependence in the visual expression of the human condition.