Welcome the Trolls: Art and the Environment

I’m always on the lookout for art that reflects nature, particularly when it is both beautiful and makes connections to restoring or preserving our environment. So I was delighted to learn about Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s installations in Rhode Island of outsize troll sculptures crafted from scrap wood and old wooden pallets.

Dambo, who has installations in five continents and 20 countries, uses his talent to promote environmental awareness. He made his first troll on the Puerto Rican island of Culebra in 2014. He views his giant whimsical creatures as “unspoken warriors of the plants and animals that can’t speak.”

There are five trolls so far in Rhode Island, the beginning of a statewide public art trail, set in locations that take a little exploring to discover. This makes them not only an environmental statement but also simply fun, luring people into nature with their magical presence. Several more trolls are currently in the works, to bring the total to seven.

Mrs. Skipper, in East Providence, is sited at the Kettle Point Pier. This area was at one time a sandstone quarry for railroad gravel, while the pier and surrounds were used by giant oil companies through the 1980s. The area was then cleaned up as part of the Kettle Point revitalization project and the development of the East Bay bike path, which runs from Providence to Bristol. Mrs. Skipper has panoramic views of Providence River, the Narragansett Bay, and the Providence skyline.

Luckily for me, Rhode Island is a small state, since I plan to visit all the trolls on the trail. Eventually.