Appreciation for Chinese ink painting is growing, but much of the art form remains unexplored. An ink painting comes into being when ink meets paper. In the era of the “rockstar artist”, many overlook the role of the latter. Unsung Heroes of Ink seeks to redress this balance. Artists Liu Dan and Shao Fan explain how paper shapes their work. Their collaborators are craftspeople in the remote Jing County, Anhui Province, who observe ancient methods to hand-produce xuan paper. These craftspeople, who have spent a lifetime honing their skills, are the “unsung heroes of ink”.