Thomas Dambo wants visitors to Denmark to go off the beaten path in order to experience the true beauty of his country.
And heās giving tourists a reason to do so.
The Danish artist and designer is the creator of āThe 6 Forgotten Giants,ā a series of sculptures that he refers to collectively as an āopen air sculpture treasure hunt.ā
The six enormous works are all located outdoors, in the outskirts of western Copenhagen. Dambo has constructed them there in a bid to bring āart out of the museum.ā
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: āLittle Tildeā peeks out between the trees in a forest, while āSleeping Louisā reclines for a nap on a hill.
The works encourage human interaction. People can crawl into the mouth of āSleeping Louisā or climb onto āOscar Under the Bridge.ā
In a , Dambo explains his motivation for ā6 Forgotten Giants,ā saying the art treasure hunt is meant to encourage human interaction with nature as much as with art.
āAs humans, we often have a way of choosing the beaten path and the main roads,ā Dambo saysin Dutch.
āSo 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 wouldnāt see.ā
On his website, Dambo provides an of sorts, to help treasure hunters navigate as they hunt for the sculptures.