Thomas Dambo
Danish sculptor artist
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Personal life
Dambo was born in 1979 or 1980[2] to his mother, a theater costume seamstress, and his father, a blacksmith.[3] He grew up in Denmark, where he was frequently exposed to troll legends. As a child, he enjoyed spending time in nature.[2] He built treehouses, dug caves, and put up zip lines in the woods.[4]
Dambo is based in Copenhagen.[5] He is married and has twin sons.[4] He has ADHD.[6]
He is also a musician and songwriter, and had a decade-long musical career in Denmark.[6]
Art
Dambo attended Design School Kolding.[3]
Dambo's art centers on sculptures made out of recycled materials. He has created birdhouses, trolls, and installation pieces from reclaimed wood and plastic.[7]
Trail of a Thousand Trolls
In the early 2010s, Dambo began the "Trail of a Thousand Trolls" project, which aims to build a thousand trolls from recycled materials.[5][8] His first troll, "Hector the Protector", was installed in Culebra, Puerto Rico in 2014.[3] The sculpture was destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017, and Dambo created a second Hector sculpture in 2019.[3]
By July 2025, Dambo and his team had created 170 trolls.[8] Often, Dambo recruits local volunteers to help with the installation of the trolls.[3]
The trolls are installed in various locations in 20 countries.[8] Some of the locations include:
United States
- Five trolls at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
- Five trolls at Dix Park, Raleigh, NC
- Rita the Rock Planter, Victor, Colorado[9]
- Six trolls as part of Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King
- A troll at Hainesport Township, New Jersey
- Three trolls at Bernheim Forest in Clermont, Kentucky
- Two trolls at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, Rhode Island
- Twelve at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, North Carolina, as part of "Trolls: A Field Study"[10]
- "Lulu the Troll", California Nature Art Museum, Solvang[11]
- "Isak Heartstone", Breckenridge, Colorado
- "Mama Rosa", Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (Mama Rosa)[12]
- Six trolls at Filoli in Redwood City, California, as part of the “TROLLS: Save the Humans” touring exhibition[8]
- "Greta Granite" and "Erik Rock", Rhode Island[4]
Other countries
- Six trolls as the Giants of Mandurah, five in Mandurah, Western Australia and one in Subiaco[13]
- Ulla, a giant female troll. Parque de la Familia, Santiago, Chile[14]
- The Giant of the Sperrins. Gortin Glen forest park, Tyrone. Northern Ireland
- Børkop, Denmark
- "Mamma Wok", Seoul, South Korea[15]
- Magical troll forest, De Schorre, Boom
Interactive Website: https://trollmap.com/
