Meet AnonyMouse: The Secretive Art Group Making Miniatures for Mice
Swedish street art has never been cheesier.
By Riley Blake
Credit: AnonyMouse
Creating miniatures requires keen eyes and steady hands — especially when you’re making art the size of a mouse.
That’s the idea behind the Swedish street collective, AnonyMouse. Much like the hacker group it takes its name from, AnonyMouse is somewhat of a mystery beyond what we’re allowed to see.
Based in Malmö, the third-largest city in Sweden, AnonyMouse has spent the last four years secretly installing miniature pharmacies, jazz clubs, book shops, and many other tiny storefronts and businesses along the streets and sidewalks of Sweden, all perfectly scaled down for mice. The dioramas are built in the gaps of brick walls, on the bottoms of trash cans, and even on the cliffs of the British Isles. Some of the miniatures have been adapted to fit inside natural environments as well, with gnarled tree roots being home to several installations.
With a record shop called Ricotta Records and a hotel named the Stilton Hotel (after the Italian book series Geronimo Stilton), the attention to detail AnonyMouse takes is impressive. Because it’s not just facades that they create: All of AnonyMouse’s installations are fully furnished and illuminated by functioning light bulbs and mini lamps. For instance, the sign outside of Ricotta Records lights up in a neon glow, while at the Stilton Hotel, wallpaper lines the rooms and tiny paintings hang above the miniature beds. Some of the storefronts even have tiny labels indicating that they accept “Chisa” credit cards.
AnonyMouse, which began in the winter of 2016, has completed 22 installations to date. Inspired by the work of authors Beatrix Potter and fellow Swede, Astrid Lindgren, the group emphasizes an effort to stay in touch with one’s inner-child, as they take inspiration from the fantasy-filled worlds of the animal-centric films The Secret of NIMH and The Aristocats.
Speaking firsthand with the group, I came into contact with a person by the name of “Yasha Mousekewitz,” who may or may not be a mouse disguised as a human.
“We believe that part of the allure of the installations is that they could have been built by anyone,” Mousekewitz told OkWhatever. “At some point, most kids like to imagine that there is a world parallel to ours wherein small animals live… recycling things that we’ve lost.”
Dedication is not something AnonyMouse shies away from. Each new diorama takes great time to create.
“When we started, it took us three months to complete a scene,” Mousekewitz said. “Now that we've gotten the hang of it, it's considerably faster.”
In order to keep each new installation a surprise, much like mice from a fairytale, Mousekewitz said the team only works when the sun goes down.
“All our work is installed in the middle of the night and we never reveal the precise locations.”
By doing so, Mouskewitz pointed out, locals have taken it upon themselves to hunt for clues in the group’s Instagram posts that may reveal where the latest scene was erected.
“People enjoy searching for clues of its whereabouts in the photos, analyzing the bricks and surroundings.”
In August 2020, AnoyMouse hosted their first contest, asking their 147,000 Instagram followers to submit mouse-centric album covers. The winners would see their ideas designed and then featured inside of Ricotta Records alongside other parody albums recreated with mice. The submissions included mock album covers featuring the likes of Rihanna (or “Briehanna”), Amy Winehouse (“Amy WineMouse”), and The Beach Boys (or “The Brie Boys”).
AnonyMouse has intentions of keeping their installations up forever — or at least until they become damaged. If the latter happens, they just recreate them.
Recently, one of their restaurants — named “Noix De Vie” or “Nuts of Life” — was destroyed in an act of vandalism shortly after its completion. The art collective wasn’t deterred. They began again, with an exact recreation of “Noix De Vie” appearing on the street only a few months later.
Working for months on end to create detailed –– and not to mention functional –– mice stores is hard work. But the secret team behind AnonyMouse is hoping they stick around.
“We’ll be keeping this up for several more years,” Mousekewitz said. “Mouse years that is.”
RILEY BLAKE IS AN OREGON-BASED WRITER. IF HE'S NOT WRITING, HE CAN BE FOUND PAINTING WITH ABSURD AMOUNTS OF COLOR, SNOWBOARDING, COOKING STRANGE MEATS, OR LOVING ON HIS ADORABLE CAT.
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