ANDREW WEIR

Andrew Weir was born in Scotland. He studied at Gray's School of Art (Robert Gordon University) and graduated with BA (hons) in 2003. As part of his degree, he also studied at the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts (The Netherlands).He lived in Japan for almost a decade, teaching English at various universities and has only recently moved back to Europe (Germany) in the spring of 2016 to commit himself to painting. His work is held in private collections throughout Europe, Scandinavia, North America, Australia and Japan.Having lived in several vastly different places, I am interested in exploring the emotional experience of moving from one culture to another. I am also fascinated by the relationship between symbols (e.g. language and mythological symbolism) and the incredible depth and variety of meaning they contain. These symbols shape our perceptions of the world; consequently, they subconsciously affect how and why we act. Moreover, these communicative systems of symbols that we create, modify, and discard have an ephemeral nature. Individual words lose their original meanings and change. Whole languages are lost, discovered, and created. Symbols which were once taboo or progressive somehow become pedestrian and mundane.These tools (symbols) which we use are pathways to understanding our past, present, and where we want to be as individuals and as societies in the future.