Two key periods of Paul Graham's art career are contrasted in the exhibition Europe: America curated by Vicente Todolí and organized by the Fundación Botín for its venue in Santander where it will be showing until January 8th 2012.

The show, which complements the British photographer's contribution as director of the Villa Iris workshop in Santander last July, juxtaposes two of his series: New Europe (1986-1992) and A Shimmer of Possibility (2004-2006).

The series titled New Europe, in allusion to the European dream, includes pictures the photographer took during his journeys in 1988, 1989 and 1990 across nine Western European countries: Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, England and Northern Ireland.

The photographs contain underlying historical references, such as an image in which the ... figure of Hitler has been scratched away, or another in which the Star of David has been successively drawn and crossed out on the orangey paint of a steel beam. The images produced during his travels in Spain include one of Franco's sculpted tomb and another of some coins stamped with the dictator's effigy, which are no longer in circulation.

In the second series, A shimmer of possibility, focusing on isolated figures inserted in urban spaces and presented in film-like sequences, Graham depicts the division of classes in American society. This concern, that of making the underprivileged classes visible, is one that the photographer also explored in his previous series American Night (2003).

In addition to the works on display, there is a brief video featuring the artist and the curator, and a virtual tour.

The show is accompanied by a catalogue with texts in Spanish and English written by the director of the Whitechapel Gallery of London, Iwona Blazwich; the photography curator of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, Jeff Rosenheim; and the New York-based investigator and freelance curator, Kevin Moore. It also includes reproductions of all the works in the exhibition. It is co-produced by the Botín Foundation and La Fábrica publishing house.

Furthermore, three artist photographers will view the works in this exhibition with visitors in order to comment on them during tours starting at eight in the evening. In October Ali Hanoon participated in the Villa Iris workshop, which will be conducted by Raúl Hevia on Wednesday, November 30th, and by the former winner of the Botín Foundation grant, José Ramón Ais, on December 21st.