Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo, known for creating nearly 200 wooden troll sculptures hidden in natural settings across 19 countries, is opening his first museum exhibition. Titled “The Garbage Man,” the show at the Arken Museum of Contemporary Art near Copenhagen features a new collection of fairy tale-inspired trolls that take over the museum and build a giant human figure out of trash. The exhibition opens Sunday and runs until November 29, marking a shift from Dambo's usual outdoor treasure-hunt installations to an indoor, narrative-driven experience.
The exhibition matters because it expands Dambo's environmental message beyond recycling to consumerism, urging visitors to buy less. By moving indoors, Dambo can experiment with materials like discarded electronics and clothing that wouldn't survive outdoors, including a 6-meter mound of used clothes. The show also highlights how public art can drive engagement—Dambo estimates 5 million people visit his works annually—and brings his viral, globally recognized trolls into a formal museum context, bridging folk art, environmental activism, and contemporary exhibition practice.