34-year-old London-based artist Matthew Weir is a skilled illustrator with a penchant for paintings that depict the peculiar institution of slavery.
As an artist, Matthew Weir has been working for the last 15 years, following the completion of his first degree at the Wimbledon School of Art. His work has been exhibited at art galleries across the world, including Berlin, Germany, Los Angeles, California, and the Netherlands.
Looking through his disturbing paintings, it's easy to see why his work has captured the attention of art curators around the world. Weir manages to deftly display the duality of the savage institution of slavery while contrasting it with the normal, slow-paced domesticity that characterized the lives of slaves in the American South. The most memorable (and jarring) image from Matthew Weir's collection shows an unsightly caricature of a slave biting into a decapitated white leg. The gruesome image is a prime example of an art piece that is hard to forget after viewing.
As an artist, Matthew Weir's best attribute is his ability to force the viewer to confront their own complicated feelings on the brutal topic. By illustrating the atrocities, warts and all, Weir brings us closer to a full-scale understanding and acceptance of the world's complicated history with the slave trade.
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Surreal Slavery Paintings
Artist Matthew Weir Creates Art that Forces A Painful Look Back
Trend Themes
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Industry Implications
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