A sculpture in My Dog Sighs exhibition, Inside. Picture: Mike Cooter
An immersive work over two floors, it goes far beyond the eye murals, or the Everyman figures and tin-can people he is already known and loved for.
This is like stepping inside the artist’s mind – combining paintings, sculpture, sound and light on a grand scale. There is artwork tucked in alcoves, round corners, in hidden rooms, on every surface.
Speaking with The News, surrounded by his work, My Dog Sighs explains the idea behind the show: ‘I d been looking for a space, and I d been wanting to move from painting murals on the street and I knew I wanted to do it in my hometown.
A renowned street artist has created an installation inside a derelict ballroom with the aim of creating beauty out of lost and forgotten spaces.
My Dog Sighs has become renowned in Southsea for his series of loveable characters and realistic eye murals, which have appeared on buildings across the Hampshire seaside city and around the world.
But now the former teacher has spent 18 months converting a semi-derelict hotel ballroom at the Queen’s Hotel in Southsea into an installation bringing his characters to life.
Artist My Dog Sighs looks around his ‘Inside’ exhibition, which aims to replace his role in the artwork with ghost-like beings that he calls the ‘Quiet Little Voices’ (Andrew Matthews/PA)