giant Recycled Trolls Enchant Visitors at Filoli Historic House & Garden
Woodside,CA – Six towering sculptures of whimsical trolls,crafted entirely from recycled materials,have taken up residence at Filoli Historic House & Garden in Woodside,California,captivating visitors and sparking conversations about environmental stewardship. Teh installation,part of a global art project by Danish artist Thomas Dambo,opened to the public in july and is already drawing large crowds.
The trolls are the latest addition to DamboS enterprising effort to create large-scale art installations using discarded materials, transforming “trash” into treasures and raising awareness about waste reduction.Each troll at Filoli boasts a unique personality and purpose. Ibbi Pip diligently constructs birdhouses, rosa Sunfinger cultivates a vibrant flower garden, and Kamma Can fashions jewelry from discarded refuse – a direct commentary on human consumption.
“Each of them has a story to tell,” explained Kara Newport, CEO of Filoli, in a statement. “It inspires people to think of their own stories, what kind of creatures might live in their woods and make that connection to living beings in nature.”
Dambo’s troll project stems from a core narrative: the trolls themselves are wary of humanity’s impact on the planet. according to the artist, these mythical beings, with lifespans spanning millennia, have witnessed the destructive patterns of human civilizations and their disregard for natural resources. However,the six younger trolls installed at Filoli represent a hopeful counterpoint. They believe humans can change and are actively working to teach environmental responsibility.
“They want to save the humans. So they do this by teaching them how to be better humans – be humans that don’t destroy nature,” Dambo, a 45-year-old former hip-hop artist and poet, explained.”They hope to save them from being eaten by the older trolls.”
This isn’t a localized phenomenon. Dambo’s troll installations are scattered across forests, mountains, jungles, and grasslands in Europe and north America, and also Australia, Chile, and South Korea. The artist emphasizes a collaborative approach,building the trolls primarily with locally sourced recycled materials and assembling them on-site with the help of a team of craftsmen,artists,and crucially,local volunteers.
The scale of the project is significant. Dambo reports his exhibitions now attract approximately 4.5 million visitors annually worldwide. He views this success as a powerful demonstration of the potential of recycling and repurposing materials. “That is such a huge proof of concept of why we should not throw things out, but why we should recycle it,” he stated.
Filoli Historic House & Garden, a 16-acre estate originally built in 1915 by William Bourn and Gertrude Travers Bourn, is a National Trust Historic Site. The addition of Dambo’s trolls provides a unique and engaging way to connect visitors with the estate’s natural beauty and promote a message of environmental responsibility.
(Source: Terry Chea, The Associated Press)
