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| Edited By: Dyuti Basu |Source: DNA |Updated: Dec 30, 2018, 06:30 AM IST
Nestled among the tall trees and dense foliage on the side of a stream in Ballglass Glen on the Isle of Man lies a tiny English cottage in a size that mice and fairies would adore. Its navy blue roof slopes over pristine white walls and lit up windows welcome those who notice it, to take a second look. One would almost expect to see Tinker Bell or Thumbelina opening the door. This pint-sized installation was placed here anonymously by a collective of artists – Anonymouse. While biggies like Banksy prefer to send strong political messages with their artwork, Anonymouse seeks to keep fairy-tale fantasies alive. "The objective has always been to spread a bit of joy and a tiny bit of magic onto the otherwise quite dull streets of Sweden," says one of the unnamed artists over email. "It's partly based on our childhood love for the books by Astrid Lindgren and Walt Disney movies."
Having started out with a tiny cafe (Italian bistro – Il Topolino) along a pavement in Malmö, Sweden, the group has, since created and a delicacy nut shop (Nix de Vie), a whole amusement park, an antiques dealer, a textile merchant, a book store and cafe, an entire opera, a petrol station inside a petrol can in the city and other parts of Sweden; a jazz club and a travel agent over in the south of France; three houses and a castle for fairies on the Isle of Man, among other pieces placed all across Europe. "We usually say the latest one is always our favourite. But we're proud of them all. They represent different steps of the learning process as well," says the Anonymouse artist.
But why the anonymity? The artists are neither creating art of the controversial kind nor are they really doing anything that could be considered illegal. The reason is much more delightful – to make children think that little mice came in the middle of the night and created little buildings while they were asleep in their beds. "And that magic would disappear with a sender," shrugs the artist. "Also, since we work as a collective, there is little point specifying any particular individual."
And since people have even brought mice and hamsters to play at some of their installments, the magic seems to be holding strong.
Still, this makes it essential for them to keep the whole operation very cloak and dagger. So, the group first creates the models in their workshop and then sets it up at the chosen location within minutes. Since most of the shops are built into cellar windows and such, quite a long time is spent in just finding the perfect spot. The process is also quite challenging in terms of the creative process, since they have to think of DIY ways to create tiny furniture.
The answer to simple questions like "what would a mouse use as a chair" is not as easy as it seems. "Just a few random things we've incorporated are chewing gum, paperclips, rulers, stamps, bottle caps, straws, tin cans, a bicycle wheel, a dogs whistle, tea cups, forks and spoons, coins and tooth brushes," lists the Anonymouse representative.
Innovation is the name of the game and it often takes the collective a bit of time to plan something bigger and better and yet keeping it all pixie-sized. While they can never give an intimation as to when or where their next installation will pop up, they assure this writer that new artwork is on the way.
Would they consider coming to India? "Oh we would love to go all around the world. And it would be amazing to go to India. The steep streets of Varanasi could work amazingly. But it would be hard to be secretive in India, there always seems to be someone awake," the artist laughs.
Make sure to keep your eyes peeled just in case!
