If you love art and animals, there’s a big chance you have already seen the works of Gerrard Gethings, a renowned animal portrait photographer based in East London.
In 2018, Gethings created a series of photographs of dogs that resemble people, which later on became a bestselling memory-card game where users had to match poodles and chihuahuas with their human counterparts.
“Everyone’s someone who looks like a dog. It’s been an idea for ever,” he told The Guardian. “But I don’t think people have thought, ‘That person looks a lot like a cat.’ I suppose there’s a feline quality some people can have, but not in the same way. They don’t have huge beards, or things dogs have, like a centre parting and long hair – easy matches. Cats are more difficult.”
Gethings sought out lookalikes. Either they have the same markings as the cat or they look like a cat in their actions. Luckily, everyone whom Gethings approached were easily hopped on the project.
“Some of them were a bit confused by the idea. But I’d already done it with the dogs, and cats are a lot better-looking than dogs, on the whole. It’s easier than anything, ‘You look like a French bulldog.’ If you say, ‘You look like a cat,’ I thing people are quite flattered,” he added.
Here are some of his best works, which were photographed using all the tricks up his sleeves – from laser points, treats, birds on the strings, and clockwork mice.
You might want to read:
– 7 of the best animal images of the decade from British Wildlife Photography Awards
– This year’s finalists for the 2020 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards might be the funniest photos you’ll see
– Finding and photographing wildlife: 11 animal-friendly pointers for budding photographers
