South China Morning Post 2011

A feature on Phil Hayes and his 101 Faithful Friends exhibition at Damina Gallery, Hong Kong, tracing how a childhood apology involving a dog drawing sparked a 20-year artistic obsession with the canine form.

Published in Hong Kong, this feature explores the origins of Phil Hayes' 101 Faithful Friends exhibition at Damina Gallery, 65 Peel Street, Soho Central, Hong Kong, running until April 28, 2011.

During his time in Ballarat Phil owned a Rhodesian Ridgeback. After an incident involving the Ridgeback and a neighbours chicken Hayes gave a hand-drawn apology to the neighbour. That simple gesture planted the seed of a lifelong artistic relationship with dogs, spanning etchings, drawings, paintings and sculptures over more than 20 years.

To produce the 101 dogs, Hayes first sculpted one original, then commissioned carvers in Bali to produce 30 in timber, with the remainder cast in polystyrene. Of the total, Hayes painted and finished 80 himself, with artists from Australia, Europe, the US, Hong Kong and mainland China completing the rest. Each dog is entirely unique, ranging from Chihuahua-sized to larger sheepdog proportions.

A portion of exhibition proceeds goes to the Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR), which has rescued and rehomed thousands of dogs since 2002. At the time of publication, HKDR was searching for a permanent shelter.