The South Coast Botanic Garden (Garden) is hosting a traveling exhibition created by Danish sculptural artist, Thomas Dambo, “Trolls: Save the Humans.” Dambo and these mythical Scandinavian creatures bring to life a message that people often overlook, that with a bit of creativity they can use recycled materials to create art and other practical projects used in everyday life while they reduce the volumes of waste collecting in landfills across the globe.

And few facilities know more about repurposing than the Garden, once the site of a Los Angeles County landfill, the Garden has repurposed the property into a 87 acre nature refuge in the middle of the South Bay.

Adrienne Nakashima, the Garden’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), states, “We are always striving to bring exhibits to the Garden that are not only beautiful and interesting to see, but that have a strong message behind them, and Dambo’s Trolls accomplish both. Dambo’s ability to bring awareness to such an important issue of reclamation and recycling with his folklore storytelling method make it approachable and endearing to the general public.”

Using his creative talents, Dambo and his staff have created an exhibit that consists of six larger than life trolls, Basse Buller, Rosa Sunfinger, Ibbi Pip, Kamma Can, Ronja Redeye, and Sofus Lotus, using various pieces of recycled wood, including over 800 shipping pallets and scrap plywood.

Dambo states, “Trolls have been a part of Scandinavian culture for thousands of years. They have been used to explain the unexplainable. Although most people think of trolls as small beings, they can be larger than life individuals. There are ‘good’ trolls and there are ‘bad’ trolls, but fortunately, these are ‘good’ trolls.”

Dambo explains, “These trolls are ‘good’ trolls and although they have their own distinct gifts, they are united by one purpose, ‘We want humans to reconnect with nature and realize they, by living in harmony with nature, we stop harming our planet.’”

As a unifying symbol of their purpose, the trolls have created and display their flag and its representation throughout the exhibit. The stylized birdhouse design signifies the importance of having humans reconnect with nature by making room for the birds and other creatures that live among us. Through this connection, humans will be inspired to care for their environment which includes the importance of reusing or recycling items or materials rather than increasing the levels of waste that go to landfills or are carelessly left across our landscape.

The trolls rely on their leader, Ronja Redeye, to serve as the group’s communicator. Ronja attempts to reconnect humans with nature through the sounds of nature and it’s aromas. Her “voice” can be heard in a variety of nature’s sounds including the wind whistling through the trees, water rushing over the stones in a creek or river, or leaves rustling along the ground. Also, her “voice” is present in the scents of flowers, the fresh scent of the air after a rain or as we discover other fragrances as we experience nature. Ronja is hoping that these sounds and aromas will encourage humans to stop, listen and experience the environment that surrounds them.

Ronja has also translated the Troll alphabet into the human alphabet so the trolls’ important messages about preserving the health of our planet can be read and shared with others who fail to recognize Ronja’s unwritten messages.

Dambo explains that anyone who stops and listens or translates her written messages will find, “Her words are always honest and straightforward, she speaks to them with compassion, because she knows that words have the power to make you smile, but they can also create great sadness. Hurtful words that get in the way of friendships, quickly turn Ronja’s eyes red.”

Basse Buller is the “Wild Child” among the trolls and pushes the limits to create messages. He does not use traditional artistic materials. Instead, he uses the light of the sun and the reflected light of the moon to create panoramic vistas revealing the colors in the rocks, leaves or other natural objects that are brought to life with the Basse’s strokes of light. You may find his work in the glistening light that dances across ocean waves crashing on a rocky shore from the gleaming ocean that endlessly extends into the horizon. And, you may have seen some of his natural light portraits. Among in his many portraits is the sun’s rays split by the branches and leaves of the trees that gently fall across the floor of a grassy meadow below. Basse hopes that his simple natural designs will guide humans to and along the right path to save our planet’s environment.

Rosa Sunfinger uses her finger to provide life-giving sunlight for flowers and other plants to grow and bring back life to places where life no longer existed. According to Dambo, “She spreads her wisdom by showing how plants can make even the most useless items come to life. She wants to bring back joy to what seemed forsaken, and watching the flowers grow always makes her smile.”

Dambo points out, “Ibbi Pip communicates to humans through colorful birdhouses.” Ibbi believes that birdhouses develop a closer relationship between humans and birds and this relationship fosters a deeper connection between humans and their natural environment. She believes that an abundance of birdhouses will encourage humans to think more about their relationship with nature.

“Kamma Can,” explains Dambo, “is a creator. She sees the potential for objects made from what trolls refer to as, eternity material, the rapidly increasing plastics and other materials that that add to the volumes of waste in our landfills or is simply scattered about our landscape.” As a creator, Kamma uses her imagination devising ways for repurposing these objects into useful everyday items and decorative pieces.

Sofus Lotus is the troll who always has one ear to ground carefully listening to our earth. Dambo says, “Sofus uses his ears to hear every little crackle, thud, and buzz. He is the first one to notice that something was wrong with the world, and that nature was changing its rhythm and ways for the worse. But he doesn’t make a fuss. He just listens, feels and is mindful of nature and all its beings.”

Imagine Exhibitions (Imagine) has partnered with Dambo to bring the Trolls to the Garden. Tom Zaller, Imagine’s President and CEO, states, “We’re delighted to collaborate with the Garden on this incredible exhibition and to offer a new outdoor exhibition for visitors and bring yet another amazing adventure to their 87 acres.”

During the duration of the trolls visit at the Garden, the Garden will be hosting other activities that are inspired by their message:

That’s SO Cal is an introduction to growing native plants.

From Trash to Treasure focuses on sustainable jewelry making.

Mega Meditation Class, Whispers in Nature.

Crafting Creations allows participants to construct their own birdhouses similar to those featured throughout the garden.

The exhibit will be on display at the Garden through January 14, 2024, and included with the admission. The Garden is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on the exhibit or other activities at the garden visit their website: southcoastbotanicgarden.org

More on Thomas Dambo

Dambo’s creativity is limitless. In addition to his troll creations, Dambo’s musical talents extend into rap and hip-hop, street art, and scenic design. As for his trolls and other recycled material creations, Dambo attributes his inspiration to his parents.

His father owned a bicycle shop and constantly found ways to extend the life of bicycles that were what once were left for discard. His mother was a seamstress who fashioned clothes and Halloween costumes for Dambo and his siblings from repurposed clothing or scraps of material .

His own creativity was sparked by living on a large property in a rural section of Denmark where he and his neighbor had ample property and opportunities to create various projects including what he described as “our own sovereign nation.” He admits that as children they had no money to complete such projects so they were often tasked with finding useful materials that they could repurpose.

In addition to this traveling exhibit, Dambo has created other trolls that are on permanent or semi-permanent display throughout the world. Dambo shares that careful planning is an important aspect of the creation of each troll. Each troll has a different face and personality. Also, where the troll will be displayed and how they will be incorporated into the landscape is carefully considered. No matter where the trolls are placed for display, they are part of the folk tale that Dambo has written to share his message of the necessity for humans to reconnect with nature and create a more livable environment by reducing waste and the use harmful products in our environment and to incorporate more sustainable and recycled materials into our daily lives.

Among Dambo’s projects are “The Trail of a Thousand Trolls” which currently number over 100 trolls. Among the nations where these trolls are located in Denmark, France, Germany, United Kingdom, China, South Korea, Australia, Chile, and parts of the U.S. Other projects include:

Happy City Birds- Dambo and his staff have installed over 3,500 birdhouses mounted on structures that are incorporated on the exteriors of buildings in urban centers to house the native birds in the area.

Happy Wall- Dambo and his staff have created and installed walls in public locations pixel message boards crafted from recycled wood that are similar to the pixel message boards used in airports, and other locations. Individuals are encouraged to interact with the multicolored wooden blocks to form letters and shapes that will create messages.

Happy Alphabet- Using recycled materials, Dambo and his staff created giant multicolored letters that are individually mounted onto casters. Individuals can position the letters in a sequence to form words including names or messages.

For information on Dambo, visit: www.thomasdambo.com

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Steve Tabor

This South Bay native’s photographic journey began after receiving his first 35 mm film camera upon earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. As a classroom teacher he used photography to share the world and his experiences with his students. Steve began his photography career photographing coastal landscapes and marine life. His experiences have led him to include portraits and group photography, special event photography as well as live performance and athletics in his portfolio. As a contributor and photojournalist, he has published stories about the people, places and events in and around the Palos Verdes Peninsula and beyond.

Interested in seeing more of Steve’s work, visit website at: www.stevetaborimages.com