14 September - 15 October, 2019
Kintai Arts
Kuršių g. 30
Kintai 99358
Lithuania
Photography by Andrej Vasilenko
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.
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 occurred 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.
During Lithuanian independence, I remember, there were quite many “used furniture from West Germany” stores. They were like tiny embassies for accessible quality and a
bright future. One such shop is still to be found in Šilutė, the capital of Lithuania Minor which is often visited by German
tourists in search of their forefathers’ homes.