Giant Trolls Will Be Taking Over The Philadelphia Zoo as Part of a New Art Exhibit
If you happen to stop by the Philadelphia Zoo this this winter and early spring, be prepared to encounter some trolls. Not social media trolls but rather large 15 feet tall trolls. These installations are part of artist’s Thomas Dambo’s TROLLS: Save the Humans exhibit.
Produced by Imagine Exhibitions, the troll exhibit is making its East Coast debut in at the Philadelphia Zoo on February 1 and will be on display until April 15th.
The world’s leading recycle artist created these six, folklore-inspired Trolls using repurposed wood. The Trolls are on a mission to inspire humans to take better care of nature. The Trolls, ranging up to 15 feet tall, will be located throughout the Zoo’s 42-acre campus. The exhibition is included in admission to the Zoo.
“As the region’s foremost conservation and education destination, we are excited to welcome these enormous Trolls to the Zoo and have them help us tell the story of how we can all make a difference for the planet,” said Director of Marketing Patrick McMaster. “Thomas Dambo’s Trolls can be found around the world in some of the most beautiful places in nature, and we’re honored to have the Zoo be their next destination.”
TROLLS were created by Artist Thomas Dambo, who currently lives and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. Born in Odense, Denmark in 1979, Dambo’s mission is to create art that inspires people to explore, have adventures in nature, and show that recycled goods can be turned into something beautiful. Before embarking on the path of building larger-than-life troll sculptures, Thomas led a multi-faceted life that allowed him to express his creativity via music, street art, and scenic design. After graduating from the Kolding Design School in Kolding, Denmark, with a master’s degree in interactive design, Thomas began his journey of using recycled materials to create colorful art installations, building the foundation for his artwork today.
Dambo’s colossal troll sculptures range in height from 16 to 50 feet and ‘live’ as permanent or semi-permanent installations in parks, greenspaces, industrial parks, and in other site-specific locations around the world. Each folklore-inspired sculpture is imbued with expression and character and is built entirely from reclaimed materials. Driven by a mission to inspire people to explore our relationship with the planet, many of Dambo’s works have an associated folk tale written by Dambo himself that address the complex problem of our world in a fun and approachable way.
In the Spring of 2018, Dambo unveiled a temporary exhibition of TROLLS at The Morton Arboretum just outside of Chicago, IL. The exhibition was an enormous success, leading to the garden’s two highest attended years in its nearly 100-year history. During the run of the exhibition, 1.26 million people visited the arboretum. Inspired by the enthusiasm of the visitors and compelled to find a way to enable Dambo’s work to have a longer lifespan in the spirit of reducing, reusing, and recycling, Imagine Exhibitions is delighted to partner with Dambo to develop this evergreen traveling exhibition.
Each with a unique name and story, the Trolls believe rethinking how we live our daily lives will help save the planet for all animals, including humans, and they want to share their ideas. They want all humans to reduce trash, reuse everything, and recycle when they can. The Trolls believe that these actions and others to protect wildlife and wild places are important steps to help save the planet for all animals, including humans.
The six TROLLS coming to Philadelphia Zoo will include:
Ronja Redeye: The Trolls’ fearless leader ready to welcome guests to Philadelphia Zoo. Her mission is to encourage guests to rethink ways to minimize trash.
Rosa Sunfinger: The Troll with a green thumb. She wants guests to find ways to renew the habitats around them and plant native plants wherever they can to create habitats for pollinators.
Sofus Lotus: The Troll who loves to listen. He likes to get down on the ground to hear the sounds of all wild things. His mission is to inspire guests to reconnect and learn from nature.
Ibbi Pip: The Troll in charge of finding new uses for old things. Her passion is reusing old wood to create bird houses, providing a home for these animals to feel safe and raise their chicks.
Kamma Can: The Troll who’s a pro at recycling. She created her beautiful jewelry from plastic that would otherwise pollute wild places.
Basse Buller: The Troll who refuses to give up on protecting the planet. He’s on a mission to motivate guests to refuse the habits humans have that hurt nature.
