Rapper-turned-recycled-trash-artist Thomas Dambo wants his 40-foot sculptures of trolls and other creatures to whimsically get us thinking, in his words, about how we keep from "drowning in trash."
Since 2014, the Danish artist has built public art installations with more than 130 of the mega-sculptures, made from discarded materials, in 20 countries.
One of his latest — and he says his largest and most ambitious work — is a collection of five wooden trolls and a giant rabbit made of yellow scrap plastic, hidden in and around Detroit Lakes, Minn.
In this YouTube video, one of several documenting the four weeks he spent in Detroit Lakes building his "Alexa's Elixir" project, he explains how scrap plastic containers from local metal fabrication company BTD Manufacturing became shingles on the body of the rabbit.
Dambo publishes maps and clues on his website guiding seekers to his works, which are often hidden in the forest or require some sleuthing to find. His work has gotten plenty of media attention, like this CBS News report of a project on Vashon Island, near Seattle.
He told The Washington Post, in this profile of the Minnesota project, that he takes pride in the knowledge that the trash sculptures bring smiles while reusing society's discards.
"Inside your trash can is the possibility to change the world if you apply some creativity and some love," Dambo said. "All trash is treasure."