Giorgio Animali is a collection of portraits, featuring animals dressed in their own skin.

Presented as composed, confident characters, often impeccably styled, the animals appear strangely familiar. A little more like us, and perhaps that is the point.

By placing these creatures in recognisably human settings and poses, the work gently blurs the line between human and animal. The result is playful, and occasionally a little unsettling. Seeing them in this way invites a simple reflection: if they feel more like us, the idea of hunting them for sport, or harming them for amusement, becomes harder to justify.

The series began with Africa’s “Big Five”: lion, leopard, rhinoceros, buffalo and elephant. Over time the cast has grown to include giraffes, hippos, gorillas and an array of other animals, both wild and domestic. Each portrait explores a different personality: the confident, the contemplative, the eccentric, the quietly powerful.

While the work carries an underlying message, it never takes itself too seriously. Giorgio Animali is intended to be witty, engaging and visually striking. Art that makes people look twice, smile, and perhaps think a little differently.

Today the collection can be found in a range of spaces, from living rooms and studies to bedrooms, safari lodges and children’s rooms. Wherever they appear, these characters tend to make themselves at home. 

After all, they already look rather human.