Check out Kentucky's beautiful trash trolls
In a forest about 25 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky, there's a family of trolls who spend their days leaning against a tree or gazing into a pond.
These three larger-than-life sculptures were made by recycling artist Thomas Dambo who was commissioned to create the wooden giants for the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest's 90th anniversary.
The arboretum was founded by Isaac W. Bernheim, a former bourbon distiller, art patron and philanthropist who dedicated the 16,000-acre tract of woodlands to the people of Kentucky as a gift in 1929. Bernheim believed that, through the lens of art, people can develop deeper connections with nature.
Danish artist Dambo traveled to Clermont, Kentucky, to help install his latest group of trolls made from discarded "trash."
As a recycling activist, Dambo likes to install his large-scale creations in natural settings. For the Bernheim Forest project, he used pallets, construction waste, fallen trees and bourbon barrel staves. Each sculpture embodies sustainability, asking onlookers to think about their own recycling habits and environmental stewardship.
"I try to be a 'trash superstar' that will show people that trash can be positive, and trash can be beautiful and sexy and VIP and worth a lot of money," he told KET's "Kentucky Life."
The new residents of Bernheim Forest are part of a larger fairytale that Dambo has been working on for a number of years. His interconnected family of trolls live all over the world: South Korea, Germany, Puerto Rico, and now, Kentucky.
This report originally appeared on KET's "Kentucky Life."
Support Canvas
Sustain our coverage of culture, arts and literature.
In death, Leonard Cohen is having a rebirth. The legendary singer is being remembered by older and younger generations alike…
Alec Baldwin's Western "Rust" had its world premiere Wednesday at a film festival in Poland, three years after the shooting…
In her new collection of columns from The Wall Street Journal, Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan takes readers on a journey…
If you've ever wanted to own a piece of Hollywood history, now's your chance. A pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers…
When Centurion was founded, it was the first group of its kind working to overturn wrongful convictions for people facing…
As major American museums reexamine their collections to ensure diversity and inclusion, there's a growing realization that they need more…
As a dancer, choreographer, director and speaker, Jamison's distinguished career leaped over barriers of race and gender.
In the 1980s, about 70 percent of clothes sold in the U.S. were made in the country. Today, it's down…
This is her first time receiving nominations in the country and Americana categories.
For many Muslim and Arab Americans, Israel's wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and the wider Middle East are personal, and so…
A giant in the music and entertainment industry has died. Quincy Jones, known to many as 'Q,' was revered as…
Jones rose from music school dropout to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives…
Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on "Saturday Night Live" in the final days before the presidential election, playing herself…
During the final days of this tense election, we take a look at a project fostering a different type of…