Two Troll statues unveiled in Charlestown

CHARLESTOWN R.I. (WLNE) — The Rhode Island troll trail officially unveiled its first two trolls Friday morning.

According to their creator, the colossal collections of reused rubbish are friendly.

“Some people get happy, but some really small children might also be scared,” artist Thomas Dambo said. “But I think that’s a good feeling too. To have all of those emotions. Most people, they just get happy and walk over and take a photo with it and enjoy it.”

Dambo started building trolls more than a decade ago and has turned thousands of pounds of what other people might think is garbage into more than 100 trolls.

“It takes around 1,000 hours to finish one of these sculptures, and that’s including taking apart two or three hundred recycled pallets, bringing all the nails out, doing all the cutting, and collecting sticks for the hair,” he said.

The first two trolls, Eric Rock and Greater Granite, will be on display at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, with Dambo saying more may be joining them soon.

“We’re talking about around six or seven or something like that,” he said. “Normally I think that’s a good size for a fairy tale or a good size for an exhibition. Because for me it’s not just about finding these sculptures, it’s about the whole journey finding them. And so then when people come and find this one, they’ll have to hike the forest. Maybe they’ll go off to the ocean or see some of the other nice stuff here in Ninigret Park.”

There’s no timeline for the trolls to be removed either, so the “junk giants” will be around for the foreseeable future.