A dozen new creatures will soon join the sea lions, tigers and bears at the Point Defiance Zoo and the wolves at Northwest Trek. The eagerly anticipated arrivals — on view to the public beginning Oct. 15 — are at home in wooded areas, where they blend in with the trees, but they shouldn’t be too hard to spot: Each is between 7 and 9 feet tall.
The parks’ new denizens are whimsical wooden trolls created by Danish activist and artist Thomas Dambo, who has attracted international attention for the folklore-inspired creatures he makes from reclaimed and recycled materials, including branches, twigs and pallets. They’re part of the traveling exhibition “Trolls: A Field Study.”
The visitors are, of course, not living and breathing creatures, but neither are they simply statues — at least not to their creator. “My trolls are alive in my universe,” Dambo said in an interview (https://filoli.org/discover-filoli/support/rose-wonders/) for Filoli Gardens in Woodside, Calif., home to a 30-foot troll, the largest he’s made thus far. “They have to feel natural.” He doesn’t label his creations with big signs or paint them in brilliant colors; rather, they are meant to be discovered in what feels like their natural habitat.
“In Nordic mythology, the trolls live in the forest, and there is this idea that … they can be made of nature — like stone and bark and wood and trees,” Dambo said in a 2021 interview (https://www.theimagineteam.com/post/an-interview-with-artist-thomas-dambo) for Imagine, the company coordinating the “Field Study” tour. “You can’t really see them if you look too fast, but if you look a little bit closer, you might spy one.
“I can make a big sculpture that is made of the forest itself (being made of recycled wood), but the story is also that … the trolls are protecting the forest,” he added.
Since Dambo began making them in 2014, the trolls have captured the imaginations of people around the world. Fans travel far and wide to see them, tracking their journeys on the artist’s Trollmap (https://trollmap.com/).
It was just this year, though, that he achieved recognition in the art world. His installation “The Garbage Man” — which includes his signature trolls along with a human figure made from old clothes, plastic bags and other trash — is on view through Nov. 29 at the Arken Museum of Contemporary Art, southwest of Copenhagen. The artist aims to bring “The Garbage Man” to a major U.S. museum after it closes in Denmark.
Each of Dambo’s installations — like each of his trolls — has its own story. The tale of “The Garbage Man” is that a group of trolls broke into the museum and created the human figure out of trash, just as Dambo creates the trolls from repurposed and recycled wood.
“Trolls: A Field Study” depicts a family of trolls who are curious about the mysterious lives of human beings. “On the night he was born, a little troll named Taks wandered into the human world,” according to Dambo’s website (https://www.thomasdambo.com/works/afieldstudy). “What he saw left him puzzled — strange machines, noisy boxes, people rushing around without stopping to talk to the trees.” Taks told his siblings what he’d seen, and the whole lot decided to find out more.
“Field Study” felt like a perfect fit for Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, said Mick Szydlowski, a spokesperson for Point Defiance. “Just as our guests observe and learn about animals, … these trolls arrive on their own mission to study humans, which creates a playful parallel we love,” he said.
Of course, Dambo’s focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship was also part of the appeal to the parks — and that focus is central to the artist’s own mission. He calls himself as a “recycle artist” and says that his work is as much about activism as it is about art.
“After I did a big birdhouse project where I made thousands of birdhouses out of recycled wood …, I decided all my art would be made from other people’s trash,” the artist said in the Imagine interview. “I wanted to educate people about all the wonderful things you can make from waste.
“Trash is not disgusting,” he told the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/23/arts/thomas-dambo-garbage-man-trolls.html). “It’s disgusting to throw it out.”
The “Field Study” trolls, which were first seen in 2025 in the U.K., are on view through Oct. 4 at the South Coast Botanic Garden near Los Angeles. Then they’ll head to Pierce County, where four will move into Point Defiance, and the other eight will go to Northwest Trek.
“Thomas Dambo and his team craft each troll with careful attention to detail,” said Ashley Friel of Imagine. “These trolls are designed with touring in mind and travel partially disassembled. Members of Thomas Dambo’s team work alongside trusted local volunteers to carefully reassemble and install them at each destination.”
The trolls will live in Tacoma and Eatonville until Jan. 24 and then be packed up for their next destination, yet to be announced. In other words, they’re likely to spend a lot of the winter in wet weather.
But given the buzz that’s already building, Szydlowski expects the troll siblings to have lots of company. “The experience is expected to draw … troll enthusiasts traveling from across the region and even the country,” he said. “We’re excited to welcome that energy and enthusiasm.”
Photos courtesy of Imagine & Thomas Dambo.
WHAT:
“Trolls: A Field Study”
WHEN:
Oct. 15-Jan. 24
WHERE:
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, 11610 Trek Drive E, Eatonville
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma
COST:
Included with admission or membership
LEARN MORE:
http://trolltrek.org