Northwest Trolls: A Preamble

Jun 17, 2023

An exhibition series in the PNW by Thomas Dambo is coming soon

Introduction by Scan Design Foundation's Program Officer,
Line Larsen:

Danish environmental artist, Thomas Dambo, arrived in Seattle in June 2021 on a trip we sponsored to explore the possibility of building a series of his giant troll sculptures in the Pacific Northwest. Two years and several site visits later, and this vision is becoming a reality, thanks to an outpouring of support from a broad array of community partners. This summer we are proud to welcome six of Thomas’ whimsical trolls to the Pacific Northwest. Brimming with wild nature and Nordic influence, this region’s setting has been begging for a set of Dambo’s Nordic trolls.

Thomas Dambo’s trolls are built entirely from recycled materials – they carry with them the lesson that trash has value. The Northwest Trolls project celebrates art and cultural heritage while relaying the critical message that we humans need to protect our precious environment. The exhibition shines light on the shared values of environmental stewardship in Coast Salish tribal communities and the Nordic people. The Muckleshoot and Snoqualmie tribes are integral partners as we honor the land upon which the trolls will be built.

To this day Thomas has brought over 100 trolls to life around the world. This exhibition titled “Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King” will link our region to this worldwide phenomenon. The Northwest Trolls are also part of a new nationwide U.S. series. This week Thomas and his crew embarked on their cross-country road trip “The Way of the Bird King” which will feature 10 trolls total (including the 6 in the Northwest). Before reaching the Pacific Northwest, they will travel through New Jersey, Vermont, Michigan, and Colorado, constructing a troll from recycled wood in each location.

Northwest Trolls is a concerted effort by several partners in our region. Visit the project’s brand-new website - nwtrolls.org - for more information about the trolls and to see all our dedicated partners. As we wait for the arrival of Thomas and his Trolls, enjoy this article by troll aficionado, Dr. Lotta Gavel Adams in the meantime:

THE TALE/TRAIL of the Thomas Dambo Trolls

By Dr. Lotta Gavel Adams
Professor Emerita, Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington

(The article has been republished with permission from the National Nordic Museum's Nordic Kultur magazine)

The first Thomas Dambo troll on the North American continent, stuck his toes into the waters of the Caribbean Sea on the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico, in 2014. It was Hector, the Protector, made of recycled scrap wood. He held a big stone in his hand, ready to protect the island from invaders and damaging hurricanes. And he did. When Hurricane Maria hit in 2017, Hector took the brunt of the winds and waves, and was knocked out. But no lives were lost on the island, for which the islanders credited Hector. In 2019, the islanders invited Thomas back to recreate their beloved Hector. The new Hector holds a lantern in his raised hand, warning approaching hurricanes, that here lies Culebra and you must go around.

Thomas Dambo, Danish rapper, storyteller extraordinaire, skilled carpenter by trade, wood sculpture artist and recycle activist, is conquering the world with his cute and whimsical giant trolls telling the humans, the little people, to stop polluting the planet. Thomas comes from a strong storytelling tradition. He was born in Odense in 1979, the same city as Hans Christian Andersen 174 years earlier. The storytelling tradition from Odense is alive and well.

Since Hector, the Protector, twenty- four more Dambo trolls have popped up in the US–in addition to his troll installations in China, South Korea, Chile, Australia, and of course Denmark. The latest ones are Bo, Bodil, and little Bibbi in Aullwood Audubon, Ohio, Mama Mimmi in Jackson Hole, and the five troll Guardians of the Seeds in Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. People are flocking to see them. His Isak Heartstone in Breckenridge, Colorado, caused such a stir, attracting more than 3000 visitors on certain days, that he had to be moved to a more accommodating place. Rocky Bardur and his five fellow trolls, in the Morton Arboretum in Chicago, got tired of the little humans continuing to pollute and destroy their beloved nature so they decided to hunt them down and teach them a lesson. Look out for Rocky and his big stone!

Trolls run deep in Nordic folklore and imagination. Since olden times, they have lived deep in the forests and mountains of the Nordic countries. The trolls were feared because they owned nature. The natural resources were theirs and they were rich. They looked imposing and dangerous like Theodor Kittelsen’s Forest Troll from 1906. The message was clear: Trolls and nature are big, powerful, and scary. You, the human beings, are small and insignificant, and scared. You better behave when you are in the forest. Things changed after the arrival of industrialization in the Nordic countries at the turn of the last century.

Humans were getting more confident and cockier, gradually imagining themselves to be the center of the universe. Trolls were safely relegated to legends and tales of superstition. Then, trolls started migrating into children’s books, where they stayed for the entire 20th century. They became a useful teaching tool for elementary school teachers, telling their young students that they needed to be strong and enterprising in the new world: Just look at those trolls! They are big and dumb, and easy to cheat. You, young boys and girls, are stronger and smarter. It is time for human beings to take charge of the world. But that did not turn out too well.

In the last couple of decades, the trolls have been returning in films and books for grown-ups. And they have a message for us. Through their many distorted forms, the trolls hold up a mirror to us, the human beings, and ask us what we see. What have you done during your hundred years in power? Enter the Dambo trolls. Their question for us, the little people, is: What have you done to the planet in the last one hundred years when you thought that you were the masters of the universe? Look at all the trash you left behind and look at the pollution you have created, and all the trees that you have cut down. It is time for you to reexamine your lifestyle.

There is now hope for the Pacific Northwest. We understand that six Dambo trolls received their visas to come to the Pacific Northwest. Now they are looking for comfy little forest spots, preferably close by the waters of the Salish Sea so they can communicate with the Orcas.