My Dog Sighs

After 15 years of giving his art away for free as part of the now infamous Free Art Friday project in the UK, My Dog Sighs found himself strapped in to a well-deserved meteoric rise. With an incredible international following in the USA, Israel, Japan and the UK; three sold out shows under his belt, and astronomical numbers on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube; My Dog Sighs has become an important figure on the contemporary art scene.

My Dog Sighs’ style is characterised by the combination of melancholic and often naive portraiture with the use of found materials including used spray paint cans or abandoned food cans; an unusual choice when considering traditional street art ideas of painting or pasted walls. Initially stemming from the desire to interact with the true public without causing permanent damage to public and private property this transient work is not concerned with permanence or mass audience, but a beautiful desire to communicate quietly with a single participant. Why cans? By recycling already ‘lost’ and abandoned materials, the cans add a layer of humanity and fragility echoing the solitary moment the ‘finder’ discovers this lost soul.

My Dog Sighs focuses the relationship and emotional discourse which arises between the work and the audience. Melancholic figures left on the streets pull the unsuspecting viewer into a confusing moral dilemma; where the guilt of ‘taking’ is directly opposed with the desire to nurture and protect.