Aidan Weichard is a Melbourne-based artist, whose creative process is ever-evolving, with the constant being his subject matter. Native Australian flora and fauna are commonly depicted in Weichard’s works and are symbolic of his affection toward the Australian landscape. Weichard grew up in the bush around Gembrook where he quickly developed a spiritual connection with the land and its animal inhabitants, both of which have become integral not only to his creative practice, but to his personal identity.
‘Memories Take Flight’ is a series of works that explores the concept of memory. 12 individual works look at how we form new memories, store them, retrieve them, lose them, alter or fabricate them based on our thoughts, dreams and reality. Mixed media layering purposefully creates textural and tangible imagery whilst intentionally covering elements of each previous layer. This loss with each layer symbolises memories blurred by time, suppression and emotion. Scattered and messy but somehow perfectly organised, these works are also an insight into Aidan’s mind, frantic and ever changing, cohesion is amiss, but each piece connected by the affection and love for the Australian setting, the animals he grew up with, and the animals he is now surrounded by, both native and domestic and the importance of those memories that have shaped his identity. Despite their frenetic nature, moments of clarity can be found through the detailed birds depicted in several works. These birds are symbolic of memories clear and true, contrasted amongst the archives of distortion and fabrication.
