Creators of tiny Swedish record shop imagined for mice speak out
A record shop for mice has ‘opened’ in Sweden as part of an ongoing art project.
Anonymouse, a Malmö-based art collective that has installed several miniature buildings imagined for mice in Sweden and other European countries since 2016, revealed its latest creation earlier this month in Lund, Sweden.
The tiny vinyl emporium, ‘Ricotta Records’, is located on the corner of Nygatan Street in the Swedish city. If visitors look closely enough, they’ll be able to see an array of miniature vinyl for sale, including a special rodent-themed version of N.W.A‘s ‘Straight Outta Compton’ and Joni Mitchell‘s ‘Blue’.
Other vinyl releases come from Destiny’s Cheese, Bruce Spenwood and Winnimere Houston. A selection of miniature-sized posters (e.g. Cat Stevens) and instruments, including a tiny banjo, can also be seen inside ‘Ricotta Records’.
Speaking to NME about their latest project, Anonymouse — who say they “want to bring a little bit of everyday magic to children and pedestrians passing by, and hopefully inspire some to change their own street to the better” — said that they deliberately chose not to mock up albums by their favourite artists in ‘Ricotta Records’ so as to keep their identity secret.
“We did get inspired in part by the NME article ‘50 Iconic Indie Album Covers: The Fascinating Stories Behind The Sleeves‘ though,” they added.
Anonymouse said that ‘Ricotta Records’ took about a month to complete. “It was originally a different shop but it didn’t pan out, so we ‘settled’ on a record store — and then it turned out to be more fun than we’ve had in quite a while.
“The installation only took about a minute or so, in the middle of the night. We’re quite efficient these days.”
On the growing interest in their artistic creations, Anonymouse said that the attention they’d received for this particular piece was “flattering and exciting”.
“Originally we thought that a few pedestrians in our neighbourhood would take notice and find them charming, but suddenly it blew up and newspapers all over the world were writing about us: from having 0 followers on Instagram to 125,000 in a matter of weeks was crazy. But that was four years ago.
“Since we ‘peaked’ with our first installation it’s been quite therapeutic continuing; knowing we will not reach the same level of interest again. However this latest piece, ‘Ricotta Records’, has gained a considerable amount of media attention, and it’s always flattering and exciting when what you do connects to people.
“Ultimately, we do this for our own enjoyment. To see the pieces in their right place for the first time is still magic to us.”
Anonymouse have unveiled several other mice-sized buildings to date, including a blues and jazz bar in the French city of Bayonne, the Stilton Hotel in Stockholm and a bookshop in Malmö, among many others.
