At the start of 2023, the artist Thomas Dambo from Denmark began constructing six giant trolls in the Pacific Northwest. These trolls stand between fifteen to twenty feet tall and are all made out of recycled materials. Thomas Dambo’s mission is “to support Danish-American relations with a focus on environmental sustainability” when designing and constructing these trolls. The project itself is intended to connect cultural heritage between Coast Salish tribal communities and Scandinavian traditions.
Dambo has created numerous trolls throughout the world and has only recently made his way to the Pacific Northwest. Thomas Dambo also created this treasure hunt-styled map to help find each troll placed around the world. You can view his Troll Map website here to find a troll near you: Troll Map
The exact location of each troll is announced upon their completion and there are more trolls to come in the Pacific Northwest area. The six trolls in the Pacific Northwest are located in the following regions:
- Ballard
- West Seattle
- Issaquah
- Bainbridge Island
- Vashon Island
- Portland
Each troll has their own poem to serve as a short description of what they represent.
Ballard – Frankie Feetsplinter
Frankie don’t like slimy fish, cause fishes are all so dumb
And Frankie don’t like little humans, humans are so dumb
Frankie don’t even like trolls, cause trolls are also dumb
But Frankie’s mouth’s the only one that says the word of dumb
West Seattle – Bruun Idun
In the night, there was a storm, there at the beach where she was born
And Idun felt a feeling wrong, and so she walked there in the dawn
And in a flute, the magic horn, a tune so passionate and strong
She played for them an orca song to ask them where they all had gone
Issaquah – Jakob Two Trees
A thousand circle suns, not old
Time will stretch and loop and fold
So stop, breathe out, breathe in, behold
The trees have sung a story told
Bainbridge Island – Pia the Peace Keeper
Pretty pretty please, let’s keep the peace beneath the trees
Hold you in my hand I will remind you with a squeeze
Quiet little people cause your criers make me tired
Pia likes to play with people, people they keep quiet
Vashon Island – Oscar the Bird King
He swam here from the island, where his momma once had birthed him
He walked a cross the mountains till his giant feet was Hurting
He spoke a crow and little girl, the Orca he heard him sing
He used to be a little troll, now Oscar is The Bird king
Portland – Ole-Bolle
There’s something in the air that something makes my belly rumble
Something smells so strong it hits me almost makes me stumble
Could it be the little people cooking something smelly
In their cooking jar, so I can put them in my belly
You can learn more about Thomas Dambo and his projects by visiting his website here: https://thomasdambo.com/
Find a troll near you and remember to use the caption #NWTrolls when seeking your troll adventure!
