this tiny gerbil museum showcases famous rodent artworks from da vinci to van gogh

the coronavirus pandemic has confined nearly one billion people worldwide to their homes. by restricting movement, shutting schools, and forcing millions to work from home, human creativity has spiked. this is the case of UK-based art couple marianna benetti and lorenzo lorenzin who have created a miniature art museum for their gerbils pets.

As promised, this is the full video of our gerbils visiting the museum. No gerbils or gallery assistants were harmed in the making of this. from r/aww

first posted to reddit and then covered by artnet, this tiny gerbil museum features famous artworks in cardboard frames created by benetti and lorenzin. the gerbils — named pandoro and tiramisu after italian desserts — can enjoy gustav klimt’s the kiss, edvard munch’s the scream, leonardo da vinci’s mona lisa and johannes vermeer’s the girl with the pearl earring. the tiny white space is so detailed that it has viewing benches, wall labels featuring QR codes and museum information pamphlets to take.

images courtesy of marianna benetti

in the video above, the couple showcases the reaction of the gerbils once they entered the tiny museum and were free to explore. and although the animals were asked not to chew the furniture, it seems that the chair was appealing to them. we’ll keep an eye open on this project as the owners have said they will keep on adding more art.

project info:

name: tiny gerbil museum

authors: marianna benetti and lorenzo lorenzin