Italian Couple Creates Unique Art Gallery for Their Gerbils
Creative pursuits are flourishing worldwide as people seek entertainment at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these inventive activities, one Italian couple has developed an especially engaging project involving their pet gerbils.
Filippo Lorenzin and Marianna Benetti reside in London and decided to construct a charming art gallery for their nine-month-old gerbil brothers, Pandoro and Tiramisù. Their background significantly contributed to this endeavor: Filippo is an independent curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum, while Marianna is an accomplished artist and writer.
The creative duo began reimagining famous artworks for their pets. “We thought it would be intriguing to observe how our two gerbils reacted,” Marianna explained. “Originally, the project was intended for a dollhouse, but given Filippo’s museum background, he proposed the idea of crafting an art gallery.”
Filippo focused on recreating iconic pieces like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Edvard Munch’s The Scream, while Marianna took on The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer and The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. “We genuinely enjoyed revisiting these masterpieces in a playful yet respectful way,” stated Marianna. “Each painting was small in size, allowing us to complete all of them in less than an hour.”
The miniature gallery includes a sign advising visitors against chewing on the artworks. However, after their exploration, Pandoro and Tiramisù decided to disregard this caution and chewed on the gallery assistant’s stool instead. Filippo and Marianna aspire for their quaint project to evoke memories of enjoyable museum visits and encourage support for creative institutions during this challenging period.
You can follow Pandoro and Tiramisù’s journey on their Instagram page here.
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