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Azbubu

Azbubu

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A six-story-high rubber duck is making a big splash in Hong Kong.

Crowds watched the inflatable duck being pulled by tugboat across Victoria Harbor in front of Hong Kong's signature skyscraper skyline.

Tourist Zhang Wenjin from Shanghai says it's a big surprise and her daughter liked it "because kids like cute stuff."
Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman created the bright yellow duck and it was built of PVC in New Zealand.

He was on hand as the duck arrived and said it later had to be deflated because high winds and waves created a "big challenge."

The duck has been transported around the world since 2007, bringing a message of peace and harmony. It will be on display until June.

Source : Sapa-AP /pk
Date : 03 May 2013 09:35

Rubber-Duck-Florentijin-Hofman-1.jpg

RubberDuck.jpg
 
Hong Kong cries fowl as rubber duck deflates

The giant inflatable rubber duck which has attracted tens of thousands of visitors since it sailed into Hong Kong two weeks ago was reduced to a sad deflated disc Wednesday in the city's harbour.

Duck mania has gripped Hong Kong since its arrival, with locals and tourists flocking to catch a glimpse of the 16.5-metre-tall (54-feet) artwork, conceived by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman.

But those who made the trip to Victoria Harbour to see it on Wednesday morning were left disappointed as the wind had firmly been taken out of the duck's sails leaving it looking like a floating fried egg.

Organisers said that the duck had been deflated on Tuesday evening as part of scheduled maintenance work and that it would be towed to a shipyard on Wednesday for thorough checking.

"We scheduled a body check for these two days. If everything is fine we can inflate it as soon as possible and the public can appreciate it again," said Andrew Yeung, advertising and promotions manager for waterfront shopping mall Harbour City, which is organising the duck exhibit.

Yeung added that the deflation had been announced on the Harbour City Facebook page on Tuesday night and also on signs around the piers.

"I know people are disappointed but we need to do the checking the overall condition. We don't want to upset everyone."

Yeung said he did not know when the duck would be re-inflated.

On a grey morning in Hong Kong tearful 45-year-old clerk Mirinna Chan reflected the feelings of visitors to the pier.

"The sky looks like it is crying for me -- I took time off from work just to see the duck, now it is just a blob," she told AFP. "It's really our childhood dream, because when we bathed as children, we would have one or two of the rubber ducks next to us."

Hong Kong has taken the bright yellow inflatable bird to its heart since it arrived on May 2 to cheering crowds, with stalls and shops throughout the city selling replicas and restaurants creating special duck dishes.

"The duck represents happiness for us," 30-year-old office assistant Lee Chun-shing told AFP.

"It was the highlight of this place, but now the highlight is deflated, of course everyone is disappointed," he said.

One man commenting on the Harbour City Facebook page said: "Kids were crying when they deflate the duck."

Most visitors resorted to having their pictures taken with smaller rubber ducks on show nearby.

Since 2007 the duck has travelled to 13 different cities in nine countries ranging from Brazil to Australia in its journey around the world.

Hofman said he hopes the duck, which is due to stay in Hong Kong until June 9, will act as a "catalyst" for connecting people to public art.


Source : Sapa-AFP /pd
Date : 15 May 2013 06:52
 
Hong Kong has taken the bright yellow inflatable bird to its heart since it arrived on May 2 to cheering crowds, with stalls and shops throughout the city selling replicas and restaurants creating special duck dishes.
Click to expand...
Isn't that a bit macabre?
 
Hong Kong hails return of the Duck

Hong Kong on Tuesday joyfully welcomed the return of a giant inflatable rubber duck, which drew tens of thousands of visitors before it was abruptly deflated for maintenance for almost a week.

The southern Chinese city has taken the 16.5-metre-tall (54-feet) yellow inflatable duck, conceived by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, to its heart since it was towed into the harbour on May 2 to cheering crowds.

Duck mania has gripped the city ever since, with locals and tourists packing the streets near where it is moored to catch a glimpse of it. Stalls and shops throughout the city sold replicas and restaurants created special duck dishes.

So many were disconsolate when the cheerful giant-sized bath toy was transformed into a deflated disc resembling a floating fried egg last Wednesday.

"It went for a body check and for maintenance, now all the work is finished and it will see everybody again," Andrew Yeung, advertising and promotions manager of shopping mall Harbour City which is organising the exhibit, told AFP.

Hundreds packed the waterfront late Tuesday and greeted the duck with cheers.

"I thought that once it got deflated, it wouldn't come back again. So now I see that it is back, I am very happy," said 28 year-old Bonibelle Lee, who was carrying a three-dimensional duck tote bag with matching yellow rain boots.

Since 2007 the duck has travelled to 13 different cities in nine countries ranging from Brazil to Australia in its journey around the world.

Hofman said he hopes the duck, which is due to stay in Hong Kong until June 9, will act as a "catalyst" to connect people to public art.


Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv
Date : 21 May 2013 14:45
 
DUCK_DEFLATED_20130515180207_320_240.JPG


:erm:
 
Giant Yellow Duck to Debut in Taiwan

A larger version of the giant inflatable yellow duck that captivated Hong Kong will grace a port city in Taiwan later this year, officials said Wednesday.

Keelung city council speaker Huang Jing-tai said he has signed an agreement with Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman to create an 18-metre-tall (59-feet) version, which is expected to go on public display around mid-December and will remain permanently in Taiwan.

Huang expects duck fever to sweep Taiwan as it did Hong Kong and to draw many tourists to Keelung, which borders the capital Taipei.

Hongkongers cheered when Hofman's original 16.5-metre-tall duck, a giant replica of a bath toy, was towed into the harbour in May. Shops sold numerous models of it, restaurants created special duck dishes and thousands turned out to admire it.

Taiwanese travel agencies got into the act by touting "visiting yellow duck" trips to Hong Kong, while copies appeared in several cities in mainland China.

The duck even became embroiled in mainland politics in the run-up to the 24th anniversary on June 4 of the Tiananmen suppression of pro-democracy activists by China's army.

Internet searches on the mainland for "yellow duck" were banned after users circulated a mocked-up image of a famous 1989 photo, with tanks replaced by plastic ducks.

More than 700 messages were left within two hours on a Facebook page entitled "Rubber Duck Welcome to Keelung" created by Huang's office, although some expressed concern that the harbour was not clean enough for its visitor.

"I hope there won't be any strange smell when I go to see the duck," wrote one. "I hope Keelung port will become clean and fresh," echoed another.

Since 2007 the original duck has travelled to 13 different cities in nine countries ranging from Brazil to Australia in its journey around the world.

Hofman has said he hopes it will act as a "catalyst" to connect people to public art.


Source : Sapa-AFP /pk
Date : 24 Jul 2013 11:38
 
Giant yellow duck explodes in Taiwain during attempt to reinflate it after earthquake

http://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...after-earthquake/story-e6frfq80-1226752441634

A GIANT yellow duck on display in Taiwan has become a high-profile victim of Thursday's earthquake after it deflated before exploding during an attempt to reinflate it.
The 18-metre-tall duck in northern Taoyuan county began to deflate when an air pump went off during a power outage triggered by the 6.3-magnitude quake on Thursday night.

The earthquake shook buildings in the capital Taipei and across much of Taiwan, sending panicked residents running for shelter, although only a few minor injuries and little damage were reported.

However, organisers were forced to suspend the exhibit of Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman's giant bath-toy replica, after powerful winds caused the duck's rear end to burst while it was being re-inflated on Friday morning, rendering it a flattened yellow disc floating on a pond.

Officials said the damage would be difficult to repair and they were planning to borrow another Hofman-designed duck commissioned by Kaohsiung city government, which attracted four million visitors during a one-month display in the southern port earlier this year.

The duck in Kaohsiung - a slightly larger version of the one that captivated Hong Kong recently - was temporarily deflated and lifted to land as a safety precaution when the powerful Typhoon Usagi pounded the island in September.
Click to expand...
 
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