Twelve Egyptian artists are taking part in an intriguing exhibit titled “Paper Trail” at the Gypsum Gallery in Cairo to pay tribute to paper, which has acted for centuries as a record of memories, experiences, places, tales and ideas.

One hundred and twenty drawings and prints by 12 artists use diverse techniques in the gallery’s summer exhibition that will last through September. The displayed works of art all use the cheapest and most fragile artistic medium — paper — which takes its name from the Egyptian papyrus plant.

"I spent a month and half visiting galleries and searching for the right artists who would participate in this exhibition,” Saida El Harakany, the founder of Adsum Art Consultancy, told Al-Monitor.

Harakany, along with Aleya Hamza, the founder of Gypsum Gallery, put together the exhibition with the aim of breaking the general perception that works of art on paper were not complete artworks on their own, but sketches or drafts. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Hamza underlined that most of the art collectors usually prefer oil paintings, believing that paper alone cannot be a complete artwork. “But the audience’s reaction to the artworks has been positive,” she said.