Walk by, Ignore me, Forget you ever saw me

About

After 10 years of giving his art away for free as part of the now infamous Free Art Friday project (‘FAF' which was covered this year by the BBC's flagship arts program the Culture show), My Dog Sighs has this year finally found himself strapped in to a well-deserved meteoric rise. With an incredible international following in Israel, Japan and of course the UK, three sold-out shows under his belt, and astronomical numbers on Facebook and Youtube; My Dog Sighs is fast becoming 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 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.