Taigh: A Wilding Garden Alec Finlay

1pm – talk and site visit at Royal Botanic Gardens
5pm – talk at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop

The wilding garden and Taigh is a work of remembrance: it was made for the dead, the donors and their families, and those who are today alive through the gift of donation. Organ and tissue donation touches many people: as an act of giving that passes between the dead and the living it speaks to our values as a culture. A memorial artwork that is made for a particular community will, if it has resonance, inevitably be taken on by others over time, each tying on their own thread of meaning. Ancient sites are scattered over our native land and, though our understanding of the lives of the folk who lived there may be limited, we are drawn to these places, for their secrets and their outlooks”.

Alec Finlay

In 2013, Alec Finlay was selected to create a National Memorial for Organ and Tissue Donors in Scotland, to be located in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. The brief was a challenging one which asked for an artwork that would provide both a lasting tribute to Scottish organ donors, and a contemplative place for those whose lives have been touched by donation or transplantation.

The finished artwork is a beautiful space, and has been developed following discussions and meetings with the many people involved – donor families, transplant recipients and the medical teams. There will be a visit to the Botanic Gardens to see the finished work with Alec at 1pm where he will be joined by stone-mason Norman Haddow. Later, at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Alec will give a talk about the development of the Memorial and other public art projects he is currently involved with. This will be followed by the launch of the publication created as part of the project. The project has been funded by the Scottish Government and realised in association with Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.