An artist who combines nature, recycling, and humanity, creating art for all that embraces two techniques of contemporary art: street art and assemblage of pre-existing objects.
But around his work, there is also a kind of performance/action, not made directly by the artist, but conceived with the aim of making the audience perform actions-movements.
But who is the artist capable of blending all these “ingredients”?
Thomas Dambo is an artist based in Copenhagen, Denmark with a master’s degree in design. He starts his career as a green artist by engaging the green environment around himself and transforming what destroys nature and our planet, into beautiful and impressive sculptures.
Created with discarded objects such as pallets, which he collects around the cities he finds himself in and where he will eventually make and assemble his works.
Dambo wants people to realize the value of waste, engaging the viewer to get back in tune with the surrounding nature. Reading these lines, don’t we think of a long-standing artist who has been told about this before?
His technique and inspirations sound like those of artist Kurt Schwitters; both committed to wanting to influence people’s thoughts, collecting the trashed world around the streets.
In the case of Thomas, all this happens with his most striking creations: giant trolls made of wood.
Hidden in the woods, among ancient trees and untouched environments, the giants talk about nature, recycling, and humanity, shaped on an idea of a fantasy world as if they had been created for a cartoon or a fairy tale.
Each of his trolls tells a story: for instance Runde Rie which is located in Denmark in Lindenborgvej. Dambo on his Facebook page about this troll says: “Runde Rie catching a dream or two”. These troll locations have even become a popular excursion destination.
Looking for trolls becomes an adventure, like a sort of hide-and-seek game, for children and adults, it becomes a way to rediscover nature together with the spirit of adventure.
If you want to take a look and learn more, there is also a map on the official website of Thomas that points out some trolls.
Trolls are not the only works created by the artist
Happy Wall – Interactive pixel street art – was created on the walls of the Kgs Nytorv subway construction site in Copenhagen from 2018 to 2019.
The Wall consists of 1728 wooden pixels that can be flipped over to display messages; in fact, this wall has been used for several promotional videos and by tourists and people to exchange messages in a fun way.
The Future Forest – a forest made of plastic?
Even if you can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it’s not there – what are we talking about?
Plastic, the protagonist of this story. The one that we find again and again today on the shores of our beaches and that has taken possession of nature.
We are in Mexico City, Thomas and his team together with the pepenadores (garbage collectors) who represent heroes for Dambo, as they make the presence of garbage invisible to our eyes. Also involving their children, more than 700 students, an orphanage, a home for the elderly and more than 100 volunteers. In two months they transformed 3 tons of plastic waste into a colorful forest with thousands of trees, plants, flowers and animals.
Thomas Dambo is the one who combines nature, recycling, and humanity, creating awareness, telling what humans have done, and destroyed. With his completely different point of view, he has managed to shape the ugly into beautiful.
