Scott Baird isn't out to solve the world's problems. Sometimes simply offering a didactic poster to- or a satirical representation of- current events, he points to society and invites discussion or debate. Perhaps influenced by his upbringing in rural Alberta, Scott has a deeply misanthropic nature and a harshly critical view of society. His work communicates his interest in how information of the world is mediated, biased, and disseminated through major news networks and the internet. As an appropriation artist, Scott creates with images taken from these sources, recontextualizes them through altered compositions and direct juxtaposition, and presents the results as graphic art in printed form.
Printmaking is an ideal medium for this work, enabling the artist to achieve a range of effects that simulate painting, drawing, photography, and collage. Scott's artwork represents his unique Canadian perspective on global issues and events, while simultaneously critiquing the source of the information that shapes that viewpoint and its biased, secondhand nature. His social and political commentary has recently been exhibited across Canada and the United States, as well as abroad in Europe.
In ironic parallel with the mass media, printmaking enables Scott to directly explore how his images evolve contextually while undergoing mass reproduction and dissemination. He currently experiments with a broad range of themes, from social justice and revolution, to class disparity and media sensationalism.