"There is so much to appreciate in and around Wigtown, and art features prominently wherever you go. One of the most impressive displays this year has been installed by this year’s artist in residence, Astrid Jaekel. Using paper cut outs, that are backlit as night falls, Jaekel has transformed the windows of the County Buildings into a charming narrative of Wigtown’s colourful community. Prior to the festival, Jaekel spent time here interviewing local residents and has used snippets of these conversations to form the basis of her artwork. One anonymous conversation installed across three large windows reads: “He’s being terribly modest. He would lock the shop and take the shopping home for the elderly and then come back and open the shop. He is the community isn’t he? And as I say, everything he does, you only find out when you speak to others.” Only Jaekel will ever know who the “he” referred to is, but her installation is a quiet reminder of the generosity and humanity embodied by the people of Scotland’s National Book Town."
Photos by Andy Farrington and Colin Tennant