SHANGHAI, Aug 28 — Shanghai has served up a “roasted” version of a
Dutch artist’s giant yellow duck, complete with drumsticks and
crispy brown skin.
Florentijn Hofman’s Rubber Duck installation gained rave reviews
when a 16.5 metre-tall (54-feet) version arrived in Hong Kong this
summer.
Hundreds of thousands of people viewed it against the backdrop of
the skyscrapers that line the city’s Victoria Harbour.
Not to be outdone, Shanghai — which is vying with Hong Kong to be
China’s financial capital — has unveiled its own version on the
Huangpu River, which forms its waterfront Bund district.
“The design process took place during Shanghai’s scorching hot
summer days, so we just thought: ‘Let’s roast it’,” designer Han
Beishi told AFP.
“Other inspiration came from an ancient Chinese poem: ‘The duck
knows first when the river becomes warm in spring’,” he added.
Shanghai’s duck is actually a working ferryboat which state media
reported yesterday will carry passengers and host cultural
performances including poetry reading.
The duck’s head, at the bow, is yellow, but reversed and looking
back towards its body which is made of papier mache, with jutting
drumsticks and cooked wings.
Several Chinese cities rushed to display versions of Hofman’s
Rubber Duck — which has been making appearances around the world
since 2007 — leading the official People’s Daily newspaper to
criticise the flock of copycats.
But the Huangpu river has made more headlines this year for a
pollution scandal which saw more than 10,000 dead pigs drift down
it in March, discarded by farmers upstream.
Han said he floated the idea of making a pig but city fathers were
not amused.
“It was my first choice, but the organisers had some concerns and
the idea was dropped,” he said.
Internationally acclaimed artist
Florentijn Hofman to exhibit his masterpiece – the gigantic
inflatable “Rubber Duck” in Hong Kong
Hong Kong inflatable giant rubber duck.
