While Hulaween is best known for bringing top-tier talent to The Spirit of Suwanee Music Park every year, those who have experienced the jubilee in Live Oak, FL know there’s much more to Hulaween than just the music. One of the key elements that separates Hulaween from other festivals is the meticulously curated Spirit Lake and its many immersive art installations. These larger-than-life pieces are an integral and unforgettable part of the Hula experience, so many festival alums likely recognized the work of Thomas Dambo in a profile in this past weekend’s episode of CBS News Sunday Morning.
Dambo has collaborated with Hulaween on four Spirit Lake art installations over the past nine years, beginning with “Snorra of Suwannee” in 2015 followed by “Runes Træ” in 2016, “Sly the Spy” in 2017, and “Zack the Shaman” in 2018. Many of Dambo’s sculptures have been invited back to Hulaween for numerous iterations, including “Sly the Spy” which cast its looming presence over Spirit Lake for the past two iterations. While none of Dambo’s work for Hulaween is featured in the profile by CBS correspondent Lee Cowan, his consistent style of expressive and lifelike wooden caricatures is no doubt familiar to anyone who has strolled past his work at Suwannee.
The latest venture for the Danish sculpture artist is the ongoing creation of over 100 hundred trolls in 17 countries. As was the case with his Hulaween sculptures and all the work he does, his Trolls series is made from recycled materials (Hula’s “Snorra” was made using broken pallets from a nearby furniture store).
“Everything I do is showing people that trash can have a value, so that trash doesn’t need to be a negative thing that’s suffocating our world but it can be a beautiful thing that we can build our coming world with,” Dambo explained, later adding, “The world is running out of resources and we’re drowning in our own trash and those two things are each other’s solution. And that is what my art is about.”
Dambo uses about five tons of recycled wood for each troll, which he hides in various wooded or secluded areas throughout the world. Some of the sculptures are much harder to find than just a walk around Spirit Lake, with Dambo dropping a few clues on where to find them on social media. And just like anyone who has spent hours ambling around Spirit Lake will tell you, the experience is in the journey and not just the destination.
“I think it’s good to remind people that there is soil and sun and water and trees and that’s a big joy for me to give that to people,” Dambo said of the quests he sends people on to find his trolls.
Watch the full CBS Sunday Morning segment on Suwannee Hulaween visual artist Thomas Dambo below. The festival returns to The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park from October 24th—27th, 2024. Find tickets here and revisit Live For Live Music‘s coverage of the 2023 festival here.
Thomas Dambo’s magical troll art
