Meet Antonio Carlos Jobim Adorra, aka Tom, the English bull terrier with a talent for modelling.
His owner, Antonio Rodrigues Jr, has incorporated Tom into his photography hobby, as a subject mimicking some of the world’s greatest artworks.
Antonio, 48, has had Tom, six, since the dog was just ten weeks old.
The graphic designer, who is originally from Brazil, said: ‘His best feature is his ability to model. We can ask him to stay at any given position, wearing any given outfit, and he will do it with pleasure.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video
‘We do what we do out of fun. I take advantage of the fact that he is both curious and collaborative and try on whatever we have in mind. Some do not work, but most times we have some very interesting results.
‘The feedback has been mostly positive. People are mostly delighted by the unusual and unexpected, and this is what they see in Tom’s photos.
‘We get some backlash, but it is often by people concerned if Tom is being forced to take the photographs, as it might sound unusual to see a Bull Terrier being so collaborative.
‘This is why we started filming the process – so that all viewers would be able to see that not only Tom is very well treated, but also he has loads of fun when taking the pictures.’
In addition to recreating famous artworks, Tom’s hobbies include getting fussed by his owner and eating.
Antonio, who has been living abroad for a few years in places like London, Havana, and Lima, said: ‘He loves anything with chicken. However, due to his mild allergy to it, he only gets some in very small amounts on very rare occasions.
‘Other than that, he is addicted to bananas, oat cookies and apples
‘I work from home, so Tom is always around me. Most of the pictures on his Instagram feed were taken during coffee breaks when I had already something set up and all I needed to do was to place him on set.
‘He is also a needy snuggle bug. He’s always trying to fit on my lap, be it while I am watching TV or even simply working at my office.
As a graphic artist, Antonio says he always like to play and subvert themes.
He adds: ‘It helps that Tom is such a great model, but it is an interesting visual experience to see a dog in an unexpected visual ambience.
‘Most of the outfits are pure improvisations, made out of found material, such as kitchen towels, my own garments, paper cuttings, etc. So it usually takes no longer than five minutes to set up the concept and no more than that to prepare Tom for the photos.’
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Source: Read Full Article
