Troll hunting: Danish artist brings installation to the Tar Heel State

RALEIGH, N.C. — The City of Raleigh is promoting sustainability, imagination and the power of public art.  

This fall, Danish artist Thomas Dambo is bringing his giant troll art installation to Dix Park. 

Five giant trolls made up of recyclables are being built and spread throughout the park.

Parts of Dix Park have looked like a construction zone for the last couple of weeks.

All for two words — giant trolls. 

“I knew what a troll was. I just didn’t know how we were going to build it,” said Habitat for Humanity volunteer Tim Woods.

Dambo, an artist from Denmark, uses recyclables and nature’s gifts to create masterpieces all over the world.  

He built the five giant trolls with the help of volunteers from near and far. 

“Some of my trolls are really tall, so maybe they’re 30 feet tall,” Dambo said.

The group also created a tail that spans more than 600 feet and will run through the park’s forest.

“The tail is the most extraordinary thing out here,” said Woods.

Woods said he’s been working for hours each day for about two weeks.

Although he isn’t building a home, Woods said trolls are just as fulfilling.

“I have eight grandkids. So, I can bring them out here and show it to them, explain it to them and tell them, ‘I helped,’” Woods said.

These installations in other cities have drawn thousands of visitors daily and boosted tourism.

Raleigh leaders and volunteers believe the same will happen here. 

“I think it’s going to be a nice tour. An area. It would also allow people to understand and see what a life of a troll is about,” Woods said.

Dambo said it will take at least an hour to find all five trolls in the park, and that’s all part of the fun behind “troll hunting.”

These trolls in the Oak City are part of a larger family of seven coming to the Tar Heel state, one in High Point and the other in Charlotte.

Together, Dambo said this will create his largest U.S. installation to date.