Jeff de Boer’s elaborate suits of armor imagine a fanciful world in which cats and mice have learned to smith metal and construct for themselves often ornate suits of armor. Through the years, he’s expanded his visions of animal armor, creating armor inspired by Medieval times, Ancient Rome, the Renaissance Era, and Japan’s Edo period.
De Boer was already experienced at making armor when he made his first suit of cat armor for a sculpture class. He decided to explore this idea in greater depth, taking real historical armor designs and adapting them for an animal form. Today, he has dozens of helmets and full suits of armor designed with cats and mice in mind. He says that he’s never outfitted a mouse in one of his armored suits, but he has tried to armor one of his cats and has “the scars to prove it.” He says that he’s far more interested in evoking an imaginative, narrative response from people who see his armor than explore the practical merits of putting mice in mail.
See more of his pieces at his website, and be sure to check out the Seven Samurai mousies.
Cats and Mice [Jeff de Boer via Ghosts in the Machine]
