Join the crowd and be part of the big picture

VISITORS to this year’s Spring Fling are being invited to become part of the art by posing for a photographic project.

Dozens of individual portraits will be merged into a single spectacular image by Kim Ayres.

To do that he needs volunteers to visit him at the Crichton, in Dumfries, on the weekend of May 23-25.

His project, called Crowd, promises to be fun and full of surprises.

It will let people be heroes, heroines (or even villains) in their own mini epic – and have that become part of a much larger picture story.

Kim said: “I’m encouraging people to take part in the way they wish to. They can dress up in costume, put on a favourite hat, or just come as they are.

“People are welcome to bring something special along that they can hold for the picture – maybe a book they love, or an instrument they play.

“They can pose however they wish, standing on one leg, dancing, sitting, in a yoga position or anything else.

“And the whole idea of having people photographed one at a time is that when we merge the portraits into one image it’ll be a total surprise to see who is there, what they are doing and how they appear to be interacting with. They might find themselves next to a long-lost friend dressed as a cowboy, their next-door neighbour doing ballet or a total stranger playing the mandolin. It will be lots of fun.”

Everyone who takes part will get a digital copy of the finished image.

Kim’s studio is at Kindar House on The Crichton campus.