At Amsterdam's Art Zoo Museum, visitors are the ones behind bars while a giant crocodile hangs overhead, a cheetah appears to be resting in a corner and a massive spider crab stretches its legs across a doorway. The unusual arrangement creates the impression that the animals are free to roam while visitors remain inside cages.
Housed in a 17th-century canal house, the museum features hundreds of preserved animals, bones and curiosities. Created by two Dutch artists, the museum combines preserved animal displays with artwork, giving visitors a different take on a traditional natural history museum.
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Why are visitors inside cages at Amsterdam's Art Zoo?
According to an Associated Press report, the museum is the work of Dutch artists Jaap Sinke and Ferry van Tongeren. It is housed in a 17th-century canal house, where the exhibition rooms are surrounded by black metal cages.
Unlike a traditional zoo, however, the animals are not behind bars. It is the visitors who walk through the enclosed spaces while hundreds of taxidermied creatures appear to be free.
{{/usCountry}}Unlike a traditional zoo, however, the animals are not behind bars. It is the visitors who walk through the enclosed spaces while hundreds of taxidermied creatures appear to be free.
{{/usCountry}}"We really like the concept of having all the people in a cage and then all the animals free," van Tongeren told the AP. He added that the idea turns the entire building into one artwork.
The collection includes a 12-foot crocodile with its mouth open, a cheetah resting in an alcove and a Japanese giant spider crab with legs stretching about six feet. Visitors can also spot large collections of animal bones, including the remains of a mastodon.
The unusual story behind the animal exhibits
Sinke and van Tongeren draw inspiration from 'wunderkammers', also known as curiosity cabinets. These collections were popular among wealthy Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries, who displayed unusual objects from the natural world.
The artists prefer giving animals dramatic poses and personalities instead of simply recreating how they look in the wild. Their work caught international attention in 2015 when artist Damien Hirst bought their entire exhibition at a London art show.
The duo also say that none of the animals in their collection were taken from the wild. According to Sinke, the specimens come from zoos where the animals died of natural causes. They mainly source them from Europe so they can keep track of their history.
Charles Darwin is also part of the museum's story
The artists consider naturalist Charles Darwin an important influence on their work and even describe him as the third member of their artistic partnership.
One display features several busts of Darwin turned sideways. There is also an interesting twist to the building's history. The canal house once served as the Biblical Museum, making the artists' tribute to Darwin an unusual addition to its past.
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Not every creature on display is what it appears to be, either. The museum also features Jenny Hanivers, which are ray carcasses altered by 16th-century sailors and presented as mythical sea monsters.
The result is a museum where art, natural history and a little bit of the macabre come together.