What is a pile of scrap wood for you? Rubbish? Well, for the Danish artist, Thomas Dambo, it’s a great resource for a sculpture, or furniture, or at least some kind of an art project. Thomas, is one of those guys, who sees art in everything, including in rubbish. He even gives speeches about upcycling teaching people to build stuff from waste. But now, let’s see these giant sculptures from scrap wood he made.
Olav the wolf
Olav was a mean-looking sculpture made entirely from scrap wood and some smashed concrete used for the foundation. It’s ferocious looks only lasted for as long as the Copenhell rock festival because, as tradition dictates, the main sculpture is to be set on fire to bring another form of sceptical for the festival’s closure.
Nowadays, only photographs remind of Olav’s former glory as the world decided this recycled masterpiece should burn in the name of rock & roll.
Ben Chiller
The 2015 music festival in Aarhus gave birth to yet another recycled wood giant – Ben Chiller. Ben is chilling on the ground allowing enough space for a few dozen people to chill on his 11 meter long legs too. Chiller is cool like that!
Now, it is to be noted all camp fire should be kept at bay as Ben has rather stiff joints and won’t be able move away from danger as fast as he might wants to.
Troels the troll
Toy around with this massive 5 meter wooden troll and you might just… well, have some fun. Troels has been “brought to life” purely from scrapped wood with the exception of a rafter installed in the architecture to better support the swing.
Now, trolls may not be native creatures to the city of Horsens but they surely contribute to the artistic atmosphere the city officials are campaigning to encourage in recent years.
Hector Protector
Hector El Protector is preparing to hurl a stone at any ill-willed visitor of Puerto Rico. Hector hurls from a seated position mainly because his massive belly does not allow for excessive standing exercises. That and the fact he’s all made of recycled wooden pallets which further contributes to his rather limited capacity for movement.
As a matter of fact, El Protector hasn’t moved since his installation which only stands in testimony how durable Thomas Dambo’s sculptures really are.
Jack Lumber
Jack is a tree eating troll and giving the fact he’s wooden too, essentially turns him into a cannibal. Unlike the fresh wood Mr. Lumber takes hefty bites from, he himself has been made entirely from scrap wood which adds yet another wordplay twist (think lumberjack).
All puns aside, Jack remains an original sculpture reminding us of the possibilities that await when art meets recycling.
Limbo entrance
This scrapwood-made dual troll sculpture holds secret features. By simply pressing a button, music will begin and the trolls will lower one hand to force people into limbo dancing through the entrance.
Another feature is the shelter the trolls can instantly turn into in an event of rain.
Those were Thomas’ majestic scrap wood giants, and here at thomasdambo.com you can see more of his art.
recycling with the trash vs putting it on the curb, the whole pcroses has become MUCH easier. In the past, I would keep an extra large canvas bag near where I did my mail to deposit the mixed paper. It would get so full that it was too heavy for me to carry out to the corner. Now that I can simply put all of the recycling in the blue box inside the trash holder -from cans and bottles to bill pay envelopes and newspapers- I find that I am a much better recycler than I was in the past.And then there’s the privacy issue ..You can’t tell me that while walking your dog or going to the school bus, you didn’t peer into your neighbor’s blue box on the curb? Sort of like checking the medicine chest in the bathroom of a home you are a guest in!