Two giant, yellow ducks are floating in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor. A huge air-filled “Rubber Duck” was very popular in the city’s financial area 10 years ago. Now, there are two.
This year, the ducks form an art exhibit called “Double Ducks” by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. They look like traditional bath toys for children. But these ducks are over 18 meters tall!
Just after they were put into the water, many people gathered on the nearby walkway to take photos. The ducks will float on the harbor for two weeks, and Hofman hopes they will bring happiness to the city, help create memories and connect people.
Hofman says that the ducks stand for “twice the fun and double the happiness. Double duck, double luck. I hope it will bring as much pleasure as it did in the past..."
AllRightsReserved is the Hong Kong-based artistic group that is supporting Hofman’s duck exhibit. The group said that the ducks were similar to the Chinese language characters for “friends” and “happiness.”
Years ago, Hofman took inspiration to create a giant duck from a world map and, of course, a rubber duck. He started his traveling show in the Netherlands in 2007. He put the duck in many harbors including ones in France and Brazil.
The Double Ducks are now floating near Hong Kong’s central area and Tamar Park.
The ducks are inspiring other artists like Laurence Lai to capture the ducks in a different way. Lai is making watercolor paintings of the ducks. The 50-year-old said that since the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong has been full of negative energy and thinks it is time for something different.
"With life returning to normal, the ducks can bring back some positivity," Lai said.
Forty-year-old Kane agreed that the ducks were positive for Hong Kong. "It's a silver lining when the society is in such low spirits. It's better (that) the government (spends) money on this than on other areas."
Eva Yang is a tourist and Shenzhen resident. She and her family were excited to see the ducks. She said this has made their visit more memorable.
"They're spectacular," Yang said.
Another woman, forty-year-old Anna, who was walking nearby, said that she also enjoyed seeing the exhibition.
"We would like more installation art like the rubber ducks in Hong Kong. Right now, there isn't much space for art in Hong Kong if we compare it to Macau or Shenzhen, they have more art installations,” Anna said.
Many people remember the joy that Hofman’s earlier duck brought to the Tsim Sha Tsui pier and shopping district in 2013.
The tour of the original 2013 duck became political by accident on the social media service Weibo during the 24th anniversary of Beijing’s Tiananmen protests in 1989.
Internet users posted an image in which the military tanks in the well-known “Tank Man” picture were replaced with the giant yellow ducks. Chinese censors immediately blocked searches for the words “big yellow duck.”
I’m Faith Pirlo.
