Bill and Bob by Cathie Pilkington

Bill and Bob by Cathie Pilkington

As you walk through Millennium Square, you may be surprised to see some Jack Russell terriers swimming in a puddle.

These are Bill and Bob!

Painted bronze life-size sculptures by artist Cathie Pilkington, Bill and Bob concentrates on creating the illusion of two real dogs swimming in a puddle of blue rubber.

By making use of humour and illusion, the depicted narratives are called in to question - are Bill and Bob swimming or sinking?

This is Cathie Pilkington’s first commission for a public space and from the outset she was interested in making something very small, which might get overlooked – the antithesis to much Public Art. She also wanted to make something very ordinary.

By placing dogs in specific contexts, she cleverly disturbs initial sentimental reactions and turns them into something a little more unsettling.