On October 31st 1997, the citizenry of England were surprised to see a new tabloid newspaper on the stands. Available for free, it was a one-time publication that utilized the format of a cheap tabloid newspaper but that contained work by 26 artists commissioned to create the news for just one day. 150,000 copies of the 24-page tabloid were distributed across England and were available at 198 libraries, handed out in the streets of many cities by vendors, and distributed alongside independent newspapers.

The Mule is concerned with the way information is collected, presented, and interpreted in the press - the way this information is delivered with both speed and certainty. The Mule slows the process down and breaks the pervasive narrative whose fiction of which we are all aware and with which we are nonetheless complicit. Participating artists include Fiona Banner, David Barrett, David Blamey, Michael Bracewell & Julian Evans, David Brock, Cornford & Cross, Max Davison, Jeremy Deller, Sarah Dobai, Rose Finn-Kelcey, Annabel Frearson, Dora Garcia, David Griffiths, Tim Head, Cornelia Hesse-Honegger, Matthew Higgs, Janet Hodgson & David Mabb, Inventory, Jian Jun Xi, Brighid Lowe, Alan Murray, Nina Pope, Nigel Prince, Bob & Roberta Smith, Johnny Spencer, and Mark Wallinge.