florentijn hofman's inflatable rubber duck gets an identical twin for its return to hong kong

Double inflatable rubber ducks celebrate a decade

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman doubles the inflatable fun by returning to Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong with his iconic 18-meter-tall giant rubber duck. This time, he has blown up and is bringing its identical twin with him to celebrate the yellow duck’s decade-versary after it first toured in Hong Kong. The large-scale public art exhibition is going to drift and float at Victoria Harbor starting on June 10th, 2023, signaling its mega comeback to Hong Kong and the curation of the creative brand AllRightsReserved (ARR).

Both 18m-tall ducks are set to be stationed near Tamar Park, Central and Western District Promenade (Central Section), and are more than ready to reunite Hong Kong’s citizens and tourists. Through the installation, Hofman looks into the present and the potential future. The pandemic brought in realizations about being in the now and that being together has shown to be essential. With the two rubber ducks floating at Victoria Harbor, Hofman’s inflatables reflect on friendship, sharing moments, and making stories with loved ones and new people alike.

images courtesy of AllRightsReserved and Florentijn Hofman

florentijn hofman’s duck toured around the world

Florentijn Hofman created a giant inflatable rubber duck installation that took on a world tour, places where vast water bodies were the new bathtubs. He started in Saint-Nazaire in France in 2007 and tugged the rubber duck with him to twelve locations across four continents before making its way to Hong Kong in 2013. Between 2013 and 2014, the drifting rubber duck has amassed over 35 million viewers, making the giant yellow inflatable one of Hofman’s most prominent exhibitions and installations to date.

As viewers stand at Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, they will be able to see not only the return of a familiar duck on the horizon slowly approaching the coast but also its identical twin. The yellow Rubber Ducks appear which Hofman describes as knowing no frontiers. ‘It doesn’t discriminate against people and doesn’t have a political connotation,’ he says. Glancing at the toy-like inflatables, these twin rubber ducks are soft, friendly, and suitable for all ages.

Beyond the purpose of its creation, the yellow rubber ducks flirt with the viewers’ childlike wonder and imagination, a remembrance of a water toy they may have used to play with as they paddled through water or sit in the tub. Its large-scale size captures attention from the get-go, especially in Hong Kong where the city made of glass and skyscrapers gets a splash of bright-yolk color. The artist, the installation, and the creative brand AllRightsReserved hope to inspire people to take a short break from their mundane daily life, watch the twin ducks float, and have a subject to talk about among their co-viewers, initiating a social conversation.

the large-scale public art exhibition is going to float at Victoria Harbor starting on june 10th, 2023