Artist honors 14-year-old girl who helped rebuild his destroyed sculpture

Here's an inspiring story to brighten your day. Thomas Dambo transforms scrap wood into whimsical sculptures that are a real treat for local communities gifted with his designs.

Last year Dambo created a sculpture called Simon Selfmade in Tilst, Denmark, using wood donated by a neighboring hardware store. The piece depicted a literal self-made man finishing his own body with a hammer. When a hurricane swept through Tilst, destroying Simon, locals were sad, so one 14-year-old girl took matters into her own hands.

The girl, whose name is Anine, created a Facebook page asking the community to donate money to rebuild Simon Selfmade, and their response was overwhelming. She reached her fundraising goal in only two days.

Dambo returned to Tilst to recreate the sculpture, except he decided to make a few changes. As an artist, he says he doesn’t like to simply repeat his work. The new sculpture reveals a change in Simon. He is now completely finished, and instead of building himself, he is now building a friend whose name is Anine, of course.

The sculpture has been renamed as well, to Simon and Anine. Once again, the sculpture was erected using recycled materials donated by the hardware store. Anine and a few friends helped Dambo and his team with the rebuild.

Sustainability is a major goal for Dambo’s artwork. “I want to show all the fantastic things you can make from trash and I believe we should dive into our trash and bring out all the good things, before we drive them to the incineration plant because there might just be a dream or a good little story like this one,” he said.

Simon and Anine is a testament to the power of community and friendship.