A beloved sculpture in Austin’s Pease Park, known as Malin the troll, has been reduced to ashes following an overnight fire. The towering figure, which previously stood on the park’s south side, served as a symbol of community spirit and environmental consciousness.
The fire, which is thought to have ignited sometime between 1:30 and 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, remains under investigation. The Pease Park Conservancy has confirmed that the Austin Fire Department is looking into the incident and deployed arson detection dogs to the scene.
While the fire department has yet to release an official statement, the impact of the loss is being felt deeply in the community. “It was such a community-wide effort to gather the reused wood that helped to build her. So many volunteers were involved. It was a labor of love, and we’re incredibly saddened,” expressed Allison Johnson, the director of community engagement for Pease Park Conservancy.
Malin, crafted by Danish artist Thomas Dambo and completed in 2024, was the result of collaboration among 150 local volunteers and was constructed using nearly all recycled materials at a cost of approximately $300,000. Johnson shared that Dambo’s team is heartbroken over the news, sending their love and support to the Austin community.
The 18-foot-tall female troll was designed to encourage residents to share water and resources with the wildlife inhabiting the area. This incident marks a repeat occurrence, as another of Dambo’s creations was also vandalized and set ablaze in Australia in 2022, which led to a replacement being installed the following year.
Though Malin was insured, details regarding whether the Pease Park Conservancy plans to commission a new troll remain unclear.
Correction: This article has been updated to clarify that artist Thomas Dambo is Danish, not Finnish, and to accurately state that the troll stood 18 feet tall.
