Thomas Dambo wants visitors to Denmark to go off the beaten path in order to experience the true beauty of his country.
And he’s giving tourists a reason to do so.
The Danish artist and designer is the creator of “The 6 Forgotten Giants,” a series of sculptures that he refers to collectively as an “open air sculpture treasure hunt.”
The six enormous works are all located outdoors, in the outskirts of western Copenhagen. Dambo has constructed them there in a bid to bring “art out of the museum.”
All six sculptures are made from scrap wood and other recycled materials scavenged by Dambo and his team of volunteers.
The giant creatures are whimsical, to say the least: “Little Tilde” peeks out between the trees in a forest, while “Sleeping Louis” reclines for a nap on a hill.
The works encourage human interaction. People can crawl into the mouth of “Sleeping Louis” or climb onto “Oscar Under the Bridge.”
In a YouTube video, Dambo explains his motivation for “6 Forgotten Giants,” saying the art treasure hunt is meant to encourage human interaction with nature as much as with art.
“As humans, we often have a way of choosing the beaten path and the main roads,” Dambo saysin Dutch.
“So when the municipalities of west Copenhagen contacted me about a project it seemed natural to make something which could get people out and explore the beautiful the nature in the hidden outskirts, which you usually wouldn’t see.”
On his website, Dambo provides an illustrated map of sorts, to help treasure hunters navigate as they hunt for the sculptures.
