The Dutch artist’s giant Rubber Duck installation is returning to Victoria Harbour to mark the 10-year anniversary of its last visit
A decade after its first visit to Hong Kong, Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman’s giant Rubber Duck Project will be returning to the city this June. The sea trial, which took place this morning (May 25) in Tsing Yi was the first step towards the reveal of the beloved art installation at Victoria Harbour next month.
The Rubber Duck Project consists of 16.5-metre tall inflatable Rubber Ducks that travel around the world to use each location’s body of water as its own personal bathtub. Hofman, known for his playful urban installations, explains on his website that the Rubber Duck “knows no frontiers, it doesn’t discriminate people and doesn’t have a political connotation”. Perhaps that is why his global tour with the Rubber Ducks—which began in 2007 and have visited cities including Amsterdam, Baku, Lommel, Osaka, Sydney Harbour, São Paulo, and Hong Kong—is entitled Spreading Joy Around the World.
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On its last visit to Hong Kong, from May 2 to June 9 in 2013, the giant Rubber Duck delighted the city and attracted more than 8,000,000 visitors during its stay. It had deflated on May 15, but the resilience of the Rubber Duck was undeterred and it was re-inflated and on display again from May 20.
Fun fact: the design of the giant Rubber Ducks are based on the bath time rubber ducklings by Hong Kong company Tolo Toys.