Auld

SNAP is pleased to present Auld, featuring new work by Thomas Weir. The exhibition runs from January 17 – February 21, 2026 at SNAP Gallery. 

Opening Reception: Saturday, January 17, 7-9 pm

Artist Talk: Thursday, January 22, 6-7 pm.

Artist Statement

“Auld” is an exhibition of printmaking and visual art focused on exploring and examining the Mysterious and the role of Mystery & the unknown as they relate to visual art and art making, and the ways in which these ideas and how they push an artist to question/imagine what a final artwork might be, and how any answer to these questions can only be made found through the process of making something and entering into the unknown and in turn allowing the creation of the artwork and the artistic process to lead the artist & what they make and discover something.

In this body of work the artist uses art making as a tool to explore Mystery. Although he draws inspiration from a wide variety of subjects or “things” that he discovers in the visual world around him, he is interested in producing work that can be examined by a viewer free of any didactic explanation or conceptual structure. 

He sees the art object as a source for exploring a realm beyond language. When making prints, Thomas imagines various scenes in his mind. When imagining these scenes, he thinks about the different art historical periods and visual cultures that most notably inform his work and conceptual thinking. 

The process used is a form of free association, allowing his influences and interests to mix with different time periods colliding  and folding in on each other. Whether it’s making references to ancient things like Scottish or  Irish rock art and petroglyphs from thousands of years in the past or something ultra-futuristic like the science fiction film Blade Runner from 1984, with the elaborate backgrounds that are an essential part of the world-building in the film – or Matisse’s cut-outs produced in the late 1940s, brought into 2 ½ dimensions via his sculptural process, and then combined with with the familiar yet otherworldly prints of a Pictorialist photographer like Joseph Stieglitz or Alvin Langdon Coburn or a scientist/artist like Anna Atkins. Overall, the artists allows himself to move freely in his collection of references in the hope of producing something new.

About the Artist

Thomas Weir is a visual artist working in a mixture of printmaking, sculpture, photography and drawing to produce works which combine these mediums into singular objects, which typically are shown as prints on an art gallery wall. Thomas recently completed his year long residency at the McLuhan House here in Edmonton and is now one of the emerging artists in residence at The Society of Northern Alberta Printmakers (SNAP) beginning this program in July and it will be concluding in January 2026 with a Solo exhibit in the Gallery Space, finally his work is currently being highlighted as part of the Edmonton Public Library featured creators program. He holds an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Guelph (2023) and BFA in Art & Design from the University of Alberta (2020).