Imagine an alternate reality where guidelines on how to protect yourself from the coronavirus are written in groovy technicolor. Where the situation is still serious, but slightly less weighty, because the reminders to not touch your face are actually fun. Such is the world of Mathery, the name of Brooklyn-based duo Erika Zorzi and Matteo Sangalli. Partners in work and life, the two have been self-isolating in their New York City apartment since the pandemic first began wrecking their native Italy. To stay busy during quarantine, they’ve been making new images that transform everyday objects like toilet paper and cleaning supplies into tongue-in-cheek commentaries on the social etiquette necessitated by Covid-19. They’re bright, informative, and an engaging antidote to life spent sheltering in place.
Ali Cherkis: Where in Italy are you from? How long have you lived in NYC?
Mathery: We are from Milan and Brescia, in the north of Italy. For 10 years, we have worked and lived together in different places across Australia, China, and South Korea. That experience has given us the opportunity to work and experiment with various disciplines such as product design, exhibition, and photography. We’ve been in New York four years, and now we’re mainly working as directors in design and photography.
When did you start collaborating?
We met at university in Milan while studying product design. Things simply clicked when we started working together on assignments. Our first project together was a blog called 01mathery that we s