Artist Thomas Dambo Hides Giants Made from Recycled Wood In The Forests Of Belgium

Artist Thomas Dambo is known for creating giant trolls out of recycled wood, and one of his beautiful installation can be found in the midst of a forest. These whimsical sculptures, made from materials found in local landfills, bring attention to the issue of waste and encourage sustainability in a playful and artistic way.

The project is called “The 7 Trolls and The Magical Tower” it’s a fairytale, told through sculptures and words, hidden in a forest, all made of recycled materials.

The Wooden Giants of Belgium are recycled and draw attention to the potential of “scrap” materials

Thomas Dambo is a Denmark-based artist who builds giant wooden trolls around the world and hides them in wilderness and forests. By doing this Thomas hopes to lure people away from the concrete cities and computer screens, into the wild and reconnect them with the natural world. He builds all his enormous sculptures of recycled materials, to show the potential in this precious material, which is often discarded and becomes a threat to the natural world.

“The 7 Trolls and The Magical Tower” The 7 trolls are from 18 to 7 meter long. The tower is 17 meters tall. It took Dambo and a crew of 15 people around 25 weeks to build it. The wood is mainly old shelves from a supermarket, pallets, and branches from fallen trees. It is located in a Belgian forest. Source: Thomasdambo.com

They were seven good friends both together and alone

by the river in the valley in the forest they had home

they had seen the sun set and rise a million times 

the seven trolls stood as tall as the pines

Source: Thomasdambo.com

Una and Joures were friends for life and like to lay in the grass

watching the skies crawl by telling stories about the past

Mikil was strong as a dragon and always on his way

Kamiel was wearing a mask a new for every day

Source: Thomasdambo.com

Arvid like to carve his dreams into ancient trees

Hannes to put pearls on a string for everyone to see

and little nora had only seen the sun rise around a million times

she was still a growing troll with her tail and young mind

Source: Thomasdambo.com

They could see past the forest to where the future emerged

they had seen civilizations crumble and new rise from the dirt

they had seen the mountains grow turn to ice melt and burn

seen the fish turn to birds and seen the continents turn

Source: Thomasdambo.com

And now they saw these little people with actions so great

it could break what forever and ever had made

and the trolls got afraid life should never be borrowed

it was meant to be shared with the day of tomorrow

Source: Thomasdambo.com

So the seven trolls gathered up on a mountain top

to find a new way the old way of now had to stop

and Kamiel spoke up we must help them get better 

the little people mean good but they are too young to be clever

Source: Thomasdambo.com

Let’s build them a tower as tall as a troll

and show them all beings are one in the soul

it took them all winter by summer it was done

they then invited all the little people to come

Source: Thomasdambo.com

And the little people walked to the top where they opened their eyes

and saw past the forests the mountains and skies

they saw to the future with tears in their eyes

what they saw no one knows but the eyes never lie

Source: Thomasdambo.com

About Thomas Dambo

Thomas Dambo makes anything from minor design projects like furniture and interior design to small and huge art projects, often involving his surroundings and the people around him.

Since Dambo was a child he always loved to hear different fairytales and folklore stories, and dream himself away into magical worlds filled with dragons and trolls. As a teenager he started writing his own stories as a rapper, putting out records, touring and creating a universe, where he could tell these stories. 

The project is called “The 7 Trolls and The Magical Tower” it’s a fairytale, told through sculptures and words, hidden in a forest, all made of recycled materials.

Here is a couple of facts about Dambo’s work:

• The 7 trolls are from 18 to 7 meter long. The tower is 17 meters tall.
• It took Dambo and a crew of 15 people around 25 weeks to build it.
• The wood is mainly old shelves from a supermarket, pallets, and branches from fallen trees.
• It is located in a Belgian forest.

If you want to see more of Thomas Dambo’s work, check out his website, Instagram and YouTube channel.

This article was first published on BrightVibes on 19 August 2019.