Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo, known for placing wooden troll sculptures in natural settings worldwide, has brought his creations indoors for his first museum exhibit. The show, titled 'The Garbage Man,' opens Sunday at the Arken Museum of Contemporary Art near Copenhagen and runs until Nov. 29.
The exhibit tells the story of mischievous trolls who secretly move into the museum, take it over, and redesign it. They build a giant human figure made of trash as a lesson for humans to behave better and stop littering. Dambo, a former poet and hip-hop artist, has created nearly 200 trolls in 19 countries since 2014.
Dambo's trolls are typically hidden in forests, mountains, and jungles, discoverable via an online 'Troll Map.' They attract an estimated 5 million visitors annually. For the museum exhibit, he has used materials that would not survive outdoors, such as discarded electronics, cardboard, and clothing.
One troll, 'Dyna Dee,' sleeps on a 6-metre mound of discarded clothing from a local recycling organisation. Dambo hopes the exhibit encourages visitors to buy less. 'This is my stop buying stuff project,' he said.
