Cornbury welcomes paper dogs backstage

The dogs are part of a hundred-strong pack that have been created by artist Tom Campbell in conjunction with the Oxfordshire Mind charity.

The inspiration for the art project came after Tom and his brother were reunited after ten years of separation.

Tom said: “The reason I’m in Oxford is that my brother turned up here. I came to support him and since then he has been offered a Mind flat, so I contacted Mind at the Mill Centre in Oxford and suggested the project, having done something similar in Cork.

“The main idea was to take the dogs ‘out on a walk’ along the Cowley Road as it would be fun to see group of dogs on the street. I made the first ten dogs with my brother around Christmas. Since then I estimate there has been around 70 people involved, both at the Mill Centre and through open workshops from the studio I have had in the Magdalen Road.”

The dogs destined for Cornbury will go backstage and get to mingle with the stars, including Seal, Jamie Cullum and Bryan Ferry. The stars will sign and customise their favourite dogs before they are sold off to raise funds for the local mental health charity.

Tom has future projects taking him to Ireland, Scotland and Spain but he said: “I hope to come back to Oxford next year for another project possibly making even more dogs or birds or fish, loads of them.”

To buy a dog email [email protected].