The Troll project is a project by the artist Thomas Dambo who creates large scale art exhibitions using found and recycled materials.
“Thomas Dambo” Excerpt
“I’m Thomas Dambo, Danish recycling artist. Our world is drowning in trash while we are running out of natural resources.
In 2011 I quit my job to become an artist and follow my mission to ‘Waste no more’.
Today, I spend my life showing the world that beautiful things can be made out of trash. I give new life to discarded materials by turning them into large-scale artworks. My journey has led me to create artworks in 20 countries across five continents, including my giant Trolls, plastic works, birdhouses, and Happy Wall exhibitions. All these projects are realized using hundreds of tons of recycled materials, working in and with local communities, who are co-creators of the art that I make because the mission I follow needs the involvement of everybody. I also host talks as a speaker, such as TEDx talk, and sometimes I host workshops to teach people how to reuse and upcycle.
Since my mission is to waste no more, I also do not want to produce a lot of merchandise and ship it all across our planet. But I know that I have many fans who want to connect with my art and this is a great opportunity to share my mission. This is why I collaborate with local suppliers and shops near my sculptures to offer sustainable books and a few locally produced, sustainable products.” (Dambo, n.d.)
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REVIEW
This is Thomas Dambo’s website. It’s his mission to reduce waste, promote sustainability, and produce cool art. I saw some of his sculptures when I was in Maine this past summer. They are very impressive in person. I wanted to include this in my literature review because of the inspiration I got from it. The website has an entire interactive troll finding adventure, where you can discover clues to solve the riddle and find the locations of these trolls. It promotes interactivity in nature, while including a digital platform. Finding that balance of technology interface and outdoor activities is seemingly difficult, and I think Thomas Dambo did a good job of meeting in the middle. You can appreciate the sculptures without knowing about the online treasure hunt, but if you do, it amplifies your experience. I hope to take this storytelling process of art further into my capstone project as I find it very interesting for multiple age levels.
Example Explorer Quest!
“Can you find all four of the Explorers? Eternity flowers have bloomed along Palawan Beach, home of where the giants rest. Follow the trail of flowers and experience an adventure of sustainability like never before.
Here’s how to get started.
1. Find the first Eternity flower at Palawan Kidz City and locate the three treasure codes.
2. Scan the QR code to input the codes on the interactive map.
3. Follow the clue to continue the quest.” (Dambo, n.d.).
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REFERENCES
Dambo, T. (n.d.). Hi, I’m Thomas Dambo – recycle artist and activist. Thomasdambo. https://www.thomasdambo.com/
