The Troll Toll
The Value of Trash
Published: 7/8/21
By: Luke Faherty
The average American produces 4.4 pounds of trash every day. This may not seem like much, but the numbers accumulate rapidly. With over 300 million citizens, America produces enough garbage to fill over 60,000 garbage trucks...daily. Thomas Dambo, a Danish artist, looks to change this.
"I like to think that my art can help change people's perspective from trash being something that has no value to something that has a big value."
–Thomas Dambo
Born in Odense, Denmark, in 1979, Dambo has always been drawn to art. While enrolled in Denmark's Design School Kolding, he began to use recycled materials to produce birdhouses and has made over 3,000. But his work does not stop there.
While traveling with my girlfriend's family in Jackson, Wyoming, she suggested we "visit the troll" both confused and curious, I went. When we arrived, I was astonished. This wooden sculpture towered over us, and it was much larger than anything I could have imagined.
Dambo now makes Trolls along with other Sculptures across the world to promote a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
The wood he uses comes from all over:
Discarded shipping pallets from a hardware store
Scraps from a nearby lumber yard
Debris from fallen trees
"We want to encourage people to get out on trails, and we want to encourage an appreciation for the environment, but in a way that also protects it."
As these sculptures capture the public's attention, Dambo hopes it inspires them to spend more time in nature and learn what mother earth has to offer.
In 2014 Thomas Dambo built Hector el Protector on Culebra, a Puerto Rican Island. Dambo constructed Hector to be throwing rocks at any intruders. Sadly, in 2017 Hurricane Maria wiped out Hector. Fortunately for the locals, it would take much more than a hurricane to deter Dambo, and in 2019, Hector was built again. He now holds a lantern embedded with a solar panel instead of a rock, allowing boats to see the coastline in a hurricane.
Context
Thoughts
– Why do you think he makes these sculptures?
– Has there been a time where you turned "trash" into something you value?
– If one of these was in your neighborhood, where would you like to see it?
