In the magical woods around Copenhagen you will find six friendly, larger-than-life giants made from scrap wood hiding behind the trees. That is, if you can decipher where they are.
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Their creator, Danish street artist Thomas Dambo, has produced a map for locals and tourists to guide them in their quest to track down the giants which have been ‘forgotten’ in off-the-beaten-track locations in the wilderness around his hometown.
The project aims to bring the art out of the gallery while also getting people to step into different parts of the city.
Dambo hopes to show people the overlooked beauty and nature of the city while giving them a sense of adventure and wonder.
‘I think there it is a beautiful aesthetic to the story, that someone cut down a tree to make something in wood that was then discarded, and now I put that wood back in a forest and made a big and beautiful sculpture. For me the sculptures represent this, that we should think twice before we discard our things, because they could become something magnificent,’ he told Lonely Planet Travel News.
He was helped by local volunteers in assembling the six giants from 600 pieces of wood taken from old fences, sheds and pallets. Each sculpture was named after one of the volunteers.
Some are out in the open, such as Teddy Friendly…
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… while others are hidden, such as Little Tilde.
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Some are interactive, such as Sleeping Louis, whose open mouth doubles as an entrance into the sculpture where people can rest after a long day of treasure hunting.
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Another, Hill Top Trine, has an outstretched hand which doubles as a raised viewpoint.
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Dambo has been building things since childhood, but entered the arts after studying at Kolding School of Design when he grew tired of the repetitiveness of carpentry.
He started his career in recycled street art sculptures in 2010 when he installed birdhouses made from recycled materials in Denmark. As his website states, ‘Not everyone understands graffiti, but even Thomas’ grandmother understands the purpose of birdhouses.’
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He and his team work mainly with scrap wood, but have also used other types of trash such as plastic and cardboard to create artworks.
In 2018 alone, he completed nearly 20 projects around the world, from South Korea to Mexico.
Feature Image: Thomas Dambo.
