There are currently six giant troll sculptures between 12 and 20 feet tall scattered around the Pacific Northwest. These trolls are in a larger installation of ten trolls that span from East Coast to West coast, and are part of an interactive environmental story called, “Way of the Bird King.” Each of these trolls is hand-built and made from all recycled materials. The artist and creator of this project is Thomas Dambo, an environ- mental artist, activist, and storyteller. Dambo is known as the world’s leading artist in recycled arts. Dambo was born in, and currently lives in Copenhagen, Denmark, and has made one hundred of these whimsical and extraordinary troll sculptures all around the world. Dambo is a former rapper, and he uses his writing and rhythm skills to make fairytales and poems that go along with the trolls.
The trolls in the United States follow with a story Dambo wrote about a young troll named Oscar who wants to figure out what’s wrong with the water and travels across the United States, learning on his journey. Dambo enlists local volunteers for him and his team to build trolls. His trolls “interact” with the visitors and teach them how to protect the environment. Dambo hopes that people can see that garbage can be turned into something big and beautiful. The culmination of the story leads to Oscar turning into the Bird King, and as Dambo told the Vashon Beachcomber, “I want people to know that trash has value, my trolls do that and also help me tell stories. In nature, there is no landfill. Nature is circular, everything has a meaning and everything is recycled.” Since the trolls are located on traditional coastal salish territories, the project worked closely with Muckleshoot and Snoqualmie tribes. The new trolls are now in Portland, Issaquah, Ballard, West Seattle, Bainbridge, and Vashon Island.