MAPU Lab is a two-person project: it's me, Stefania Gallina, and Francesco Salvetti.
It’s a laboratory of artistic creations that came to life in the summer of 2010 with our first market stall. Over the years we have experimented a lot but there has always been a common thread: we love to propose cheerful works that communicate light-heartedness and that tell a little about our world made up of strange animals, dreamy characters, travellers and people who always live slightly “with the head in the clouds”.
Over time I dedicated myself mostly to drawing illustrations, while Francesco hand-make the wooden frames and creates incredible characters with papier-mâché.
We exhibit our work at craft markets and art fairs. We really enjoy the market dimension as it allows us to meet in people person and have a human exchange with our customers. We have a small production so we concentrate our exhibitions in the summer and Christmas period.
On this site you will find my illustrations, andif you are curious about Francesco's works you'll have to come visit us live at the markets (we always publish on social media where we exhibit).
Two words about me
I’ve always drawn and built things because creating is my greatest passion and it’s what really makes me happy. Over time, I'm not sure how, I got a degree in economics...and then finally, when I stopped doing what I 'had to do’, I started studying what I 'wanted to do': illustration, scenography, digital drawing, painting and mural art.
I really like travelling and being constantly on the move. I lived 6/7 years in Scotland, one in Mexico, one in Thailand, and since 2018 my time is divided equally between Italy and Sri Lanka.
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I speak a lot and in 4 different languages, but I also love being alone and getting lost in my imaginary world.
I am neuro divergent (in this case 2E: gifted+ADHD with dyscalculia if you have a grasp on the topic ;-) ), which, to explain it in simple words means that my head works in a rather particular way... but this, looking at my drawings, was probably already quite clear.
If you are curious and want to discover more about our world, you can follow us on Instagram.
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