January 11, 2024

Philadelphia Zoo to display huge troll sculptures made from salvaged wood

The exhibit, created by artist Thomas Dambo, promotes conservation. His 'Big Rusty' statue appeared in Burlington County last summer

By Kristin Hunt
PhillyVoice Staff

Provided image/Atlanta Botanical Garden

'Trolls: Save The Humans,' an exhibit featuring six trolls sculpture made with discarded pieces of wood, opens at the Philadelphia Zoo on Feb. 1. Above, Kamma Can, one of the trolls in the exhibit, carries an anti-littering message.

Half a dozen trolls will invade the Philadelphia Zoo next month as part of a new exhibit preaching sustainability.

"Trolls: Save the Humans" opens Thursday, Feb. 1 for a two-and-a-half-month stay. It marks the East Coast debut of the traveling collection, which is currently on display at the South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes, California.

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Created by renowned artist and activist Thomas Dambo, the exhibit features six troll sculptures reaching up to 15 feet in height and carved from salvaged wood. Each has a name and a backstory — from "wild child" Basse Buller to "natural leader" Ronja Redeye — but all are designed to promote recycling, reuse and reduced consumption.

Dambo has unveiled more than 100 large-scale troll sculptures, all molded from recycled materials, in wooded areas and cities around the world. One of his most recent works is Big Rusty, the troll that appeared in Hainesport, New Jersey last summer. Created from 100 square meters of plywood, electrical equipment, concrete and rusty metal roofing, Big Rusty is an insatiable trash monster who warns against waste and littering.

"Careful not to feed the beast," a poem on Dambo's website reads. "One day, she might grow sick."

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The troll exhibit will remain on view through April 15, and is included with regular admission.

"As the region's foremost conservation and education destination, we are excited to welcome these enormous Trolls to the Zoo and have them help us tell the story of how we can all make a difference for the planet," said Patrick McMaster, the zoo's director of marketing. "Thomas Dambo's Trolls can be found around the world in some of the most beautiful places in nature, and we're honored to have the Zoo be their next destination."