“Trash is treasure,” says Thomas Dambo, a Danish artist who has turned garbage into bigger-than-life sculptures, a giant swan in Denmark to trolls in Rhode Island. In a few days, on May 3, the first two of possibly six or seven trolls will take residence in Charlestown’s Ninigret Park.
Dambo’s trolls, all built from recycled materials, are scattered worldwide – more than 20 countries on five continents and 17 states in the United States. Besides trolls, Dambo has created thousands of sculptures that are recycled and bigger than life.
He was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1979. His mother was a schoolteacher, and his father was a rock performer who turned owner of a bike shop that assembled bicycles out of recycled materials. A graduate of a design school in Denmark, Dambo worked with his father, eventually turned to art, and became known as the world’s leading recycling artist (in his words, “garbage artist”).
We had an opportunity to talk to Thomas Dambo as he prepares for a presentation at Westerly’s United Theater on April 30 and the unveiling of his first two Rhode Island trolls in Ninigret Park in Charlestown on May 3. Listen to the interview here: