Grab your maps, explorers. Danish artist Thomas Dambo recently unveiled a new troll sculpture at the River District, as part of his largest North American installation. “Big Pete with the Big Feet” is expected to welcome visitors by Saturday, Nov. 8, and joins a sculpture in High Point and a family of five in Raleigh.
“Big Pete’s story is about how he has really big feet and loves the flowers around him, but he’s so cursed with big feet that he always steps on things he loves the most,” Dambo exclusively told CLTtoday. “He wonders if he should just stop walking and save all the flowers that he loves, or should he keep walking to help spread their seeds.”
Big Pete is perched at the main trailhead of The River District. Made from recycled wood found in Charlotte and around the Catawba River, the troll is nestled among the trees, and goes hand-in-hand with the upcoming district’s commitment to nature preservation and sustainability.
“Pete is made of fallen branches, bourbon barrels on the arms, and different wood from local construction,” explained Dambo. “It’s an example of how we can make really big and cool things out of our scraps, so we don’t need to just throw everything out.”
Pro tip: Big Pete, along with his new installations in NC, will appear on Dambo’s global Trollmap, joining more than 150 others from around the world.
Want to see more? Twelve “baby trolls” will be visiting the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville later this month as part of the traveling exhibition, “Trolls: A Field Study” — AVLtoday can help you plan your visit.
