Robber duckie: Knock-offs of Hofman's duck pop up across China
Staff Reporter 2013-06-04 10:05
The Wuhan imitation of the giant yellow duck designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman. (Photo/CFP)
In typical Chinese fashion, imitations of the giant yellow duck art installation currently floating in Hong Kong have sprung up all across mainland China to cash in on the craze, reports Hubei's Changjiang Daily.
The 16.5-meter duck designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman has already toured cities from Sydney to Sao Paulo and will have a happy bathtime at Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour until June 9. The duck's next stop is the United States, according to Hofman.
Shortly before China's June 1 Children's Day, however, sightings of the yellow duck have popped up all across the mainland, from Hangzhou, Foshan and Tianjin to Chongqing, Wuhu and Wuxi. The ducks are generally all crude imitations that measure no more than six meters in height.
In Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province, residents were excited on Firday to read reports that a giant yellow duck would be visiting a local scenic area, thereby sparing them a costly trip to Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the duck that visitors ended up seeing was a barely 6-meter-tall "mini duck."
The Wuhan duck was said to have been brought to the city as part of an arrangement brokered between real estate developer Country Garden and the duck's copyright owner, though Hofman has denied making any arrangements with the developer.
"The rumors are false," Hofman told the Wall Street Journal's China Real Time Report. "If people want the real duck, they have to come to me."
"Right now what it is showing is that there is a lack of trust in China, and that is an enormous problem," the artist said, adding that he "would revolt" if he were a Chinese person.
"This kills society, this kind of behavior," he said.
A Guangzhou-based inflatable goods manufacturer told the Changjiang Daily that a 3-meter-tall inflatable duck costs only several thousand yuan, while a 6-meter duck would cost more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,600).
