How did a shipping container become a canvas for one of Portsmouth’s most celebrated street artists?
As the countdown to the Victorious Festival begins, Portsmouth street artist My Dog Sighs has teamed up with festival organisers—and Geest Line—to transform an otherwise mundane shipping container into a striking art piece. The towering installation will be visible from the M275 and feature at the festival site, adding a creative flair to the city’s summer celebrations streetartcities.com+5streetartutopia.com+5portsmouth.co.uk+5streetartutopia.com+11portsmouth.co.uk+11portsmouth.co.uk+11.
🎨 Overcoming Corrugated Challenges
The decision wasn’t straightforward: My Dog Sighs initially had reservations about painting on the container’s rippled surfaces. But thanks to Geest Line providing a fridge container with smooth panels, the artist could bring detailed, large-scale visuals to life portsmouth.co.uk. The result is a vivid, thought-provoking mural that reflects his signature eye motifs, now grandly scaled on an industrial object.
⚡ A Creative Collaboration
“It made sense to work together on something—it’s fantastic,” said My Dog Sighs, referencing both the festival and citywide local pride. He also shared a personal highlight: Fatboy Slim once wore one of his self-designed t-shirts on stage at Victorious—a moment he still remembers fondly victoriousfestival.co.uk+11portsmouth.co.uk+11streetartutopia.com+11.
🌟 Street Art Legend in the Making
With a reputation for reflective-eye murals and subtle social commentary, My Dog Sighs (Paul Stone) is a Portsmouth icon. A pioneer of the Free Art Fridays movement, he’s known internationally and has a track record of transforming public spaces into galleries—whether city walls, disused buildings, or now, a festival container en.wikipedia.org.
📅 What’s Next?
- The container will be prominently featured at Victorious Festival, running 22–24 August, before potentially touring Portsmouth.
- A limited-edition T-shirt designed by the artist in collaboration with the festival is also now available through Victorious’ merchandise, with just 150 copies in existence .
“It’s a festival on my doorstep which I absolutely love so to have a piece in the festival is always a great thing.”
— My Dog Sighs
Heading to Victorious? Stop by and see this unique art installation by My Dog Sighs! Want your own piece of the art? Grab the exclusive T-shirt via the Victorious Festival online shop.
