Artists

Keith Arnatt

Between 1976 and 1979, Keith Arnatt photographed dogs and their owners out for walks near his home in South Wales.

Instinctively, the viewer begins to make comparisons between the walker and the dog, but it quickly becomes evident that this empathic series is about difference, rather than similarity.

Furthermore, Arnatt went to great lengths to ensure that both owner and dog were looking at the camera.

"Where the photographic act is concerned, a dog's attention span is extremely short. When, for example, calling a dog's name fails to attract its attention, I am forced to resort to more extreme measures."

"My barking and growling are quite effective, though such antics tend also to affect the owner's own response. And though a fair number of pictures do show the dog making the required response, they are marred by showing the owner peering down to see whether they are doing so."

"The pictures on view, some of which might hint at the behaviour involved in getting them, are the successes."