Boredom can do strange things to people, but sometimes the results can be pretty spectacular.
That’s what happened with Marianna Benetti and her boyfriend Filippo Lorenzin, both 30, whose boredom turned into something rather beautiful indeed.
The couple, who live in London and are in lockdown together, constructed a miniature art exhibition last week to keep their pet gerbils entertained during quarantine.
From the Mousa Lisa to the Gerb With the Pearl Earring, they made tiny rodent versions of some of the most famous paintings in the world.
Marianna and Filippo also made mini benches, gallery assistant stools, large print guides, and a sign which read ‘DO NOT CHEW’.
Their two nine-month-old gerbils, Pandoro and Tiramisu, enjoyed browsing the gallery and nibbled their way through one of the delicately constructed chairs.
Marianna and Filippo, originally from Italy, are on day 14 of self-isolation together in their house in London.
Filippo works at the V&A – who are closed due to coronavirus – and Marianna works in retail, so they’ve both been at home with Pandoro and Tiramisu.
Retail worker Marianna said: ‘We are both quarantined and we came up with the idea to build something to entertain our two gerbils.
‘The original project was for a dollhouse, but my boyfriend proposed the idea of designing an art gallery complete with all the details.”
The model took four hours to make and the pair ensured all materials used were gerbil-friendly.
They made a blueprint for the design to make sure the proportions were correct for their pets.
Filippo added: ‘We wanted to recreate the master paintings in a funny but respectful manner.’
Since they posted their mini gallery online, the response has been fantastic.
Marianna added: ‘Everyone was overwhelmingly positive. We didn’t expect such friendly feedback and look forward to adding more artworks to the gallery.
‘It is great to see so many creative suggestions for other paintings from the community.’
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