14 DAY TRIAL // What may be considered the most creative chess set ever made is actually a collection of dead mice acquired from a captive breeding facility that offered frozen rodents for snake feeding. The animals were customized with small hand-made accessories to reflect each chess character.
Even if some may consider the artist's creation a bit dark and creepy, artist Rachael Garcia makes it very clear that she doesn't feel bad about the poor rodents as they were already dead and destined for reptile snacks. So, instead of becoming a meal, the mice are now time-standing pieces in a famous game.
Every piece is dressed according to its character, wearing fitting garments like the kings and queens bearing crowns and small royal-like clothes, bishops with special gowns and hats or knights showing off miniature shields and swords.
“Every mouse was a unique creature in life, making each piece of this set a one-of-a-kind creation, hand-stuffed by me,” the artist writes on her Etsy page. Every set has 16 white mice and 16 dark-colored ones, available in different sizes, accompanied by a hand-painted wooden chessboard and case.
As expected, the reactions to the unique taxidermy chess set were a mix of surprise, shock and disgust, but it's not like the artist was not expecting that.
Her unique creation was sold with $450 (€327) and more customers are requesting the controversial chess pieces. Rachael is also planning on recreating famous movie characters like Gandalf or Slash from Guns and Roses from the small rodents.
The chess set takes almost 30 days to complete as all the parts, except the mice, are hand made from scrap fabric or jewelry pieces found around the house or gathered from local craft stores, according to Cnet. Garcia's favorite pieces are the bishops, with little hats and gowns hand-made to give them an amusing look.