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A Danish artist has found a novel way of scaring the bejesus out of nature-loving hikers out for a peaceful stroll in the woods.

Thomas Dambo builds huge trolls from recycled and reused materials and then hides them in woods all across the world.

All of Dambo’s trolls are made mostly from recycled and reused materials, with the majority of the wood used to build the Pease Park trolls sourced from Harvest Lumber, a sawmill dedicated to giving new life to Austin’s fallen trees.

With the help of nearly 300 volunteers, the artist has now built five trolls and a massive golden rabbit – with wiper-blade whiskers and motorcycle helmets for eyes – which have all been hidden in forested parks around Detroit Lakes in Minnesota.

 

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Dambo has recycled trash into art his entire life and over the years, he has built many different art projects and sculptures; however, the trolls have been his largest creations.

 

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Dambo says the trolls are all about environmental or ecological awareness. Before building a sculpture, he works with locals to understand their culture and stories, and then creates his “whimsical, recycled-wood trolls to provide community members with the opportunity to explore nature on their visit and to experience an example of how materials can be reused and repurposed into art”.

To date, Dambo has built 129 trolls in 17 countries, recycled hundreds of tons of scrap wood, and more than 10 million people have gone out to find his trolls in woods around the world.

 

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Imagine coming across one of these trolls in Newlands Forest. On mushrooms.

[source:instagram/thomasdambo]