Rubber Duck Project Seoul 2022
러버덕 프로젝트 서울 2022
Since the large 26m rubber duck appeared in Saint-Nazaire, France in 2007, this yellow rubber duck has been traveling around the world, delivering a message of peace and happiness to many people.
In 2008, it was exhibited throughout the Netherlands and in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in Osaka, Japan in 2009, Auckland, New Zealand in 2011, and Onomichi, Japan in 2013. In 2013, Rubber Duck was exhibited in Sydney, Australia, Harbor City, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Keelung Taoyuan, and Beijing, China, in 2014, Chongqing and Guiyang, China, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and LA and Pittsburgh, USA. They also vary in size. The Saint-Nazaire duck was the largest at 26m, 20m, and 32m in width x length x height, and the ducks installed in the lake in the Summer Palace in Beijing were 14m, 15m, and 18m. The rubber duck, which floated on Seokchon Lake in Seoul in 2014, measures 16.5m in height, 16.5m in width x 16.5m in length, and 19.8m in weight, and its weight is also close to 7,000kg.
In this project, which returns in 2022, the artist hopes that the Korean people, who have fallen into despair due to the long-term pandemic and economic stagnation, have an opportunity of 'healing' to share joy and hope and to wean their wounds through a large yellow rubber duck floating in Seokchon Lake. conveys a message.
ABOUT ARTIST
Humour, sensation, maximum impact; internationally renowned artist Florentijn Hofman (Delfzijl, 1977) does not settle for less. His sculptures are large, very large, and are bound to make an impression. Hofman’s sculptures often originate from everyday objects. They are all ready-mades, selected by Hofman for the beauty of their forms. Subsequently he crafts these into clear and iconic images; cartoonish blow-ups of reality that alienate and unsettle through their sheer size and use of materials. Nevertheless they are immediately identifiable and have an instant appeal. Although artists do not always tend to value reactions of passers-by, for Hofman the audience is an essential part of his work. An encounter with one of Hofman’s extraordinary sculptures invites us to stand still for a moment and to look; to really look and to take a picture if you like. They give people a break from their daily routines. Passers-by stop in front of them, get off their bicycle and enter into conversation with other spectators. People are making contact with each other again. That is the effect of my sculptures in the public domain.’
