soulgifts – Telling Tales

I love this. Maybe because it speaks to my Scandinavian heritage and folklore. And recycling of course.

Thomas Dambo is a Danish artist who makes giant trolls sculptures out of recycled wood. He has worked with countries all over the world to build 63 trolls, often in remote places people wouldn’t normally visit. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he decided to hide his sculptures in the Danish countryside and organise a nationwide treasure hunt for families who can’t go on holiday abroad.

His love for creating unique works of art started young as he scangenged the neighbourhood for discarded construction materials to build treehouses and  soapbox cars. Now he specializes in creating imaginative art pieces, sculptures, furniture, and more from recycled materials. His first major endeavor, “Happy City Birds,” resulted in more than 3,500 birdhouses made from discarded construction materials and displayed in several cities around the world.

Recently, Dambo completed work on The Six Forgotten Giants, six larger-than-life mythical creatures made from recycled wood and hidden in forests and meadows as well as alongside waterways in Copenhagen’s suburbs. The Six Forgotten Giants, which includes a scavenger hunt element, has earned Dambo worldwide acclaim, with stories on BBC Radio, marthastewart.com, the travel website Lonely Planet, and Bored Panda, an online community dedicated to sharing art, design, and photography.

Upcycling with a passion, he transforms by-products or unwanted items into new materials, reduces waste—and regularly conducts workshops on the subject for schools and companies.

Raili Tanska

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