‘One man’s trash’: Environmental artist brings giant troll project to Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — Somewhere in Charlotte, a new art installation with a powerful message is waiting to be discovered.

The Queen City will soon be home to world-renowned “garbage artist” and environmental activist Thomas Dambo’s latest creation in his international troll project.

Over the last decade, Dambo has built 172 larger-than-life troll sculptures from recycled wood in 23 countries, including 22 states in the U.S. He says over 20,000 volunteers have collaborated on the project that has since reached millions around the globe.

The meaning behind it all — trash is treasure.

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In an exclusive presentation from the artist at the Gambrell Center in Charlotte Thursday night, Dambo recounted his lifelong fondness for trash.

“I love trash, broken bottles, brown bananas behind the supermarket, old boards or broken windows,” he said.

From childhood dumpster diving with his father in Denmark to crafting a “pimp car” out of old tarps and plywood during his brief stint as a rapper, to street art, and now, a globally recognized art movement, Dambo has spent the last 30 years devoting his life to garbage.

“This truly displays how one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” he said.

Dambo’s work aims to showcase the value of our trash while also highlighting other environmental issues and promoting recycling and reuse.

“The world is running out of resources while we are drowning in trash,” he said. “It’s so obvious what the solution is, right? The solution is just, they should just be friends. Just do like nature, just loop it around and around and around forever.”

And that’s exactly what Dambo does in his art. His army of trolls, made of 100% repurposed wood, protects the very woods they are built from. They sit strategically hidden in the trees and brush of forests around the world, and Dambo isn’t forthcoming about where they are located. It’s part of his mission to get people out in nature and inspire communities to think creatively about sustainability.

“All these people, they have returned home with this valuable lesson that something that is made of old, of trash, of something that’s worthless, can have just as much power and joy as something that’s made of a new material," Dambo said.

Dambo’s Charlotte troll project is sponsored, in part, by Curator Lesli Marshall of Articulation Art.

According to a release from the Gambrell Center, Marshall is happy to welcome Dambo and his work to the city.

“More than 150 of Thomas’ giant trolls have popped up in parks and forests around the world,” Marshall said. “It’s a thrill to help him add Charlotte to the list.”

While Dambo won’t tell you exactly where his creation can be found, he did say the approximate location of the troll will be released Saturday on his “Trollmap.”

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