The Way of the Bird King… Trolls in our Backyard

When Thomas Dambo was growing up in Odense, Denmark, his parents wondered why everything he did was so wild and out of control.  They understood that he thrived in an environment where he could use his imagination and create things out of whatever materials were available to him.  As he grew up, he became aware of the amount of trash there was everywhere he went, and it became his goal to “waste nothing”.  He was taught from a young age the importance of recycling, sustainability, and environmentalism.

Dambo graduated from Design School Kolding with a master’s degree in interactive design and has been a jack-of-all-trades ever since — dumpster diving for materials, building interactive street art and even taking a turn as a rapper. He once said to an interviewer “If I could be the trash recycling superstar – that would be the best marketing tool to remove the shame of trash. I wasn’t ashamed, I was proud.” inviting people to connect deeply with nature and fostering a sense of environmental stewardship.  After an event he attended, Dambo found mounds of plywood and made 250 birdhouses of all different sizes, which he hung all around Copenhagen.  The birdhouses were so popular that he kept making them and started offering workshops, producing over 4,000 birdhouses out of trash and colorful waste.

 "I found my dream of being an artist in a garbage can. Trash is a treasure."  Thomas Dambo

In Denmark, in 2014, Dambo built Jack Lumbar, his first troll, out of old pallets and other found materials.  His first troll outside of Denmark was also in 2014, where Hector the Protector lives on the island of Culebra in Puerto Rico. As of this writing Dambo has created and installed 125 trolls from China to South America.

The origin of the Northwest region trolls dates back around four years ago when the National Nordic Museum became aware of Thomas Dambo. The museum saw how Thomas’s work aligned with their values and they became interested in a troll of their own. ““We had initially spoken about a troll at the museum, then the idea grew to monumental proportions,” said Leslie Anderson, Chief Curator at the National Nordic Museum.

The Way of the Bird King, is a collection of ten trolls that were built in six cities, starting in New Jersey, then Vermont, Michigan, and Colorado before reaching the Pacific Northwest. The whole project was completed in 100 days, including the six in our region - Vashon Island, Bainbridge Island, West Seattle, Issaquah, Ballard, and Portland, Oregon. This post includes the five that are local to Washington State.

To commission a troll, each interested community submits a request. The first step for Dambo is a visit to the community to evaluate the proposed location for the troll and to assess the community for its ability to sustain the work - in dollars, support, and volunteers. Each installation costs approximately $100,000 and each community is responsible for costs. The Scan Design Foundation provided project management for the collaborative projects with funding, media, and site partners from across the Northwest, including the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

The six Northwest Trolls highlight the connections of cultural heritage between Coast Salish tribal communities and the Scandinavian traditions. Each troll is part of a larger environmental story that reinforces the shared values of environmental stewardship. Since the trolls were to be located on traditional Coast Salish land, Dambo worked closely with the Muckleshoot and Snoqualmie tribes, and established an artistic exchange with Muckleshoot member, John Halliday. Otherwise known as Coyote, Halliday and Dambo share a mutual love and respect for the environment. Coyote traveled to Denmark where he painted a mural of an orca on the side of a barn.  Each troll also has its own fairy tale that tells a story and connects with its location. All are written by Dambo himself. 

According to a Seattle Times article, “Dambo involves members of each community in which he erects a troll, putting out an advance call for volunteers to help with the build. The most distinctive parts of each sculpture — the head and the feet — are constructed in Dambo’s workshop on a farm in Roskilde, 30 minutes outside of Copenhagen, and then shipped to the sites for installation. His crew — a mix of Danish builders, artists and other creatives from locales that include Texas and Australia — arrives at each site first to start the building process. During this time, volunteers help take apart donated shipping pallets (each troll requires up to 150 pallets), serve as docents to explain what’s happening to curious onlookers, they pry nails out of discarded lumber”, as well as cut wood pieces, screw together parts, clear brush, prepare meals for the crew, and provide lodging for members of Dambo’s team.

The trolls are expected to stay in their current locations for a minimum of three years at which time a discussion between Dambo and the community about the community’s ability and interest in maintaining the troll for longer.

Speaking of the trolls, “they’re meant to encourage us to get outside, inspire us to protect nature, and remind us that even garbage can become a resource.”  Thomas Dambo

Bainbridge Island – Pia the Peacekeeper - Height: 18 feet

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 they keep quiet.

Pia the Peacekeeper is in Sakai Park, only a mile and a half from the ferry terminal.  Its location is close to downtown, within the arts district, close to schools and library, and on the transportation route. Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities wanted to bring public culture to their parks. 

West Seattle – Bruun Idun  - Height: unknown

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 have gone.

Bruun Idan (pronounced “Edan”) is in Lincoln Park, and plays the flute to call out to the Orca’s. While still in Denmark, Coyote engraved killer whales on the flute and created adornments for Bruun Idan with traditional cedar rope and abalone shells.

Twenty days after it was completed Bruun Idan was vandalized. Its legs and stomach were painted over, as if someone was trying to put pants on it. Luckily, crews with Seattle Parks and Recreation power washed the troll and the paint was removed the same day as it was reported.

Issaquah Troll - Jakob Two Trees - Height: 14 feet

A hundred circle suns not old

Cause time will stretch and loop and fold.

So stop breathe in - breathe out, behold.

The trees have sung, the story is told.

Jakob stands on the side of the Rainier Trail. He was the first troll with a ponytail; Its band and Jakob’s bracelet were made by the Snoqualmie Tribe. Jakob’s birdhouse necklace invites neighborhood birds and other creatures to visit.  In October the Issaquah Alps Trail Club sponsored a children’s walk to learn not just how Jakob was created but also learned about the Issaquah Alps.

Vashon Island – Oscar the Bird King - Height: 20 feet

He swam here from the island where his mother once had birthed him.

He walked across the mountains ‘till his giant feet start hurting.

He spoke a craw, a little girl, the Orcas heard him sing.

He used to be a little troll; now Oscar is the Bird King! 

Oscar’s beard is a twisting thicket of Madonna branches. His crown features birdhouses as do the stakes driven into the ground surrounding his court at Point Robinson Park. No matter where you stand Oscar appears to be looking at you. He is a character warning humans to be good stewards of their environment. The Vashon arts community sponsored a troll camp. Kids played games and made birdhouses to be placed around the troll.

Ballard – Frankie Feetsplinters, Height: unknown

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.

Frankie does not like to be in the city.  He’d rather be out in nature with his friends.. Considering that Frankie and all their friends are Scandinavian, it makes sense that Frankie is keeping watch over the National Nordic Museum,  crushing a bench with his left foot bringing to light the reason for his name.

 Frankie is not the first piece of Dambo’s art to be shown at Seattle’s Nordic Museum.  From July 2022 through April 2023 the Nordic Swan, Denmark’s national bird adorned the entrance. Along the same lines of sustainability, the swan was made from three hundred mayonnaise buckets, snugly fitted over a wooden frame.

“I want people to know that trash has value. My trolls do that, and also help me tell stories, like the legends I grew up with,” Dambo said. “In nature, there is no landfill. Nature is circular, everything has a meaning and everything is recycled.”  Thomas Dambo

Postscript: My only disappointment with this post is that I wasn’t aware of the trolls until their installations were complete. Photos of the full process would have made this story even more complete.