Thomas Dambo: The Garbage Man

'The Garbage Man' is Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo's first museum exhibition, at the Arken Museum of Contemporary Art on the outskirts of Copenhagen in Ishoj, Denmark. For more than a decade Dambo has scattered giant wooden troll sculptures built from reclaimed material across the world, creating almost 200 in 19 countries. The exhibition brings a collection of his fairy tale-inspired creations in from the cold for the first time. The show tells the story of a group of mischievous trolls who secretly move into the museum, take it over and redesign it, building and leaving a giant human made of trash as a lesson for people to behave better and not put their waste where everyone else lives. A poet and former hip-hop artist, Dambo started spreading his trolls in 2014 with two sculptures for a Danish music festival, then hid six giant trolls in wooded areas around Copenhagen in 2016, a project that went viral and drew millions of viewers online. Dambo and his team build about 25 new trolls a year. Visitors to the exhibition can also try building their own troll in a dedicated workshop, using flooring removed from the museum's former shop and foyer. 'The Garbage Man' runs through November 29.