A show "Kittens" by Viktorija Damerell and Ona Juciūtė, in Kintai Arts Residency, 2019

 

Bengal cats were bred to combine both – the behaviour of a domestic kitten and the appearance of a wild tiger. They are supposed to have 1/10 of wild beast blood and still be fine living indoors.
However, sometimes their savage origin can take over and these fluffy kittens become cheetahs. This is exactly what happened to Donatas from Vilnius, who claims that he was cheated, having purchased an unsuccessful genetic experiment rather than a kitten. During the last six months, he maintains that he has been petting a beast that he is actually afraid to touch. “He eats chicken thighs, small birds, rats. I give him food like this while he is growling and tearing”, – Donatas told.

Various types of plastics are often used to produce fake amber. These forgeries are sold very cheaply, without hiding the fact that it is not a natural one. However, later on, as theses fakes spread in the market, it becomes hard to control the authenticity of amber. Often, street sellers do not even know that they are offering plastic. One way for consumers to tell real amber from fake is by burning it or rubbing it against the wool. However, it may not be quite so easy; rumour has it that there is already technology capable of manipulating it’s natural pine resin aroma.

In 1716 a Prussian prince gifted a Russian ruler the Amber Room. During the Second World War Germans removed the gift from Russia and brought it back to Königsberg Castle where it was reconstructed. Eventually, it was placed on a public display, but later it was packed into boxes and stacked in the basement of a castle. After the war ended, it went missing. It is believed that the Germans, in all haste, attempted to export the boxes from conquered Germany on a ship, but that the shop was sunk by a Russian submarine. However, in 1959 a message came that the room had been found in a salt mine. As explorers surrounded the place, a mysterious explosion occured causing water overflow and stopping the recovery operation. It was later that the Amber Room was fully recreated using local artists to celebrate 300 years of Saint Petersburg.

 

© Foto Andrej Vasilenko

 

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