Dambo gathered the trash and hauled in about 25 tons of scrap wooden, then introduced collectively 300 volunteers in Detroit Lakes, Minn., to make gargantuan outside public artwork.
Working collectively, they constructed 5 monumental trolls and a looming golden rabbit that was accented with salvaged wiper-blade whiskers and motorbike helmets for eyes. The supersize artworks — ranging in peak from 16 to 42 ft — have been then hidden in forested parks across the metropolis.
“My final objective is to have trolls shocking folks in each state,” stated Dambo, who has made a profession out of constructing the legendary giants. He has positioned 139 outsize trash trolls in 19 states throughout the U.S., from Washington to Maine, in addition to in 20 nations.
He used 5 tons of scrap wooden to construct every troll in Minnesota, and stated he’s eyeing one other 12 million tons of recyclable scrap wooden throughout the nation.
“That’s sufficient materials to construct two and a half million trolls,” he stated. “I’d love to point out folks how a lot magnificence we are able to create from all that trash.”
In Detroit Lakes, a troll named Alexa holds a big wood spoon over a recipe e book and a cauldron, whereas a troll known as Ronny Humorous Face pokes his tongue out at anybody who stumbles throughout him within the woods. The tallest troll, Lengthy Leif, towers 42 ft above the grass.
The creations have been drawing guests from across the nation because the exhibit opened June 10, stated Amy Stearns, government director of Project 412, a nonprofit group arts help group named after the 412 lakes that encompass Detroit Lakes.
Volunteers additionally helped Dambo construct 800 birdhouses to place across the metropolis, she stated.
“Our a part of northwest Minnesota will get missed rather a lot,” stated Stearns, noting that Detroit Lakes is about 3½ hours from Minneapolis. KSTP News lately reported on the huge artwork installations.
Mission 412 used donations to rent Dambo and his crew after Stearns and others on the nonprofit discovered a couple of troll the group had constructed in 2018 in Breckenridge, Colo.
Most of Dambo’s trolls are everlasting fixtures, though some journey in non permanent displays, such because the “Save the Humans” trolls that have been on show on the Philadelphia Zoo earlier this 12 months with a message about caring for the atmosphere.
Dambo’s troll mission in Detroit Lakes is his largest thus far, he stated.
Dambo, 44, is a former rap musician and graffiti artist who pivoted to monster-size artwork in 2014. He stated he’d constructed 250 birdhouses from scrap wooden and put them throughout Denmark, and he questioned if there was one other method to make use of up trash and inform a narrative.
“My mom used to sing me a track about trolls, and there was a cassette tape we’d all the time hire on the library that instructed the legends of trolls in Denmark,” Dambo stated. “Trolls play a giant half in Scandinavian folklore.”
“I’d been desirous to make some huge sculptures, and trolls appeared like the reply,” he stated. “They got here from my childhood, my a part of the world.”
He debuted his first two trolls, Mr. Limbo and Mrs. Limbo, at a Danish music competition, and so they have been such a giant hit that he continued. In 2016, he constructed Six Forgotten Giants round Copenhagen, adopted by Troll Hunt in Chicago and the 7 Trolls and the Magical Tower in Belgium.
In 2021, Dambo and his spouse, Alexa Piekarski, purchased a farm close to Copenhagen and arrange a studio to plan and design tasks.
Dambo stated he and a crew of 26 now construct heads for the trolls within the workshop, then ship them to be assembled with the remainder of the sculptures on-site.
“We’re engaged on 12 [trolls] within the studio proper now, and it takes about 750 hours to finish each from starting to finish,” he stated.
Dambo stated he consults with the cities and organizations that rent him to seek out the most effective public areas the place he can conceal the trolls and elevate the shock.
“It’s like hiding an enormous in a haystack,” he stated. “It appears particular while you discover one thing that huge, and it’s additionally foolish to cover one thing that huge. I like the thought of individuals simply stumbling upon it.”
Dambo posts pictures of his creations on Instagram and Facebook, the place he has greater than 300,000 followers. He stated he all the time incorporates tales and legends into every of his tasks as a result of he needs folks to remove a message about caring for the Earth.
“My trolls are the voices of nature and the animals,” Dambo stated. “In Detroit Lakes, the story is a couple of golden rabbit that comes into town and casts a spell on people, so that they suppose they need to work on a regular basis to get twice as a lot cash to be twice as pleased.”
Guests start their seek for the golden rabbit in Detroit Lakes Metropolis Park on the Alexa troll named after Dambo’s spouse.
“They’ll solely discover the golden rabbit in the event that they resolve the riddles offered by the trolls,” Dambo stated.
He left clues in a e book subsequent to Alexa, and positioned necklaces round every troll’s neck with additional clues, which finally leads members to the rabbit, he stated.
“Accumulate this info and you may resolve the riddle,” Dambo stated, including that it will most likely take about 10 to 12 hours to go to the entire Detroit Lakes trolls in a single day.
People who find themselves restricted on time and don’t need to undergo every step of fixing the riddle can nonetheless see the 5 trolls by driving or climbing to them individually utilizing directions provided by Project 412, he stated.
He stated he takes satisfaction in realizing that his trolls are bringing smiles whereas additionally making use of throwaway supplies from the native landfill.
“Inside your trash can is the chance to alter the world when you apply some creativity and a few love,” Dambo stated. “All trash is treasure.”
