One of the giant rubber ducks on view at Victoria Harbour that was deflated over the weekend has been reinflated and was put back on display on Monday afternoon. The duck was removed from its exhibition spot near Admiralty after a routine inspection on Saturday found that it was overstretched due to the hot weather and rising air pressure.
It was then taken to a shipyard in Tsing Yi, where the organisers of the ducks’ exhibition said it underwent “condition checks”. “After consecutive days of high temperatures and rainstorms, during the regular inspection yesterday (June 10), the team took immediate measures to deflate the artwork and pre-empt other potential risks,” the organisers of the exhibition said in an Instagram post.
The two 18-metre-tall ducks were meant to be on display in Hong Kong to mark the 10-year anniversary of when Florentjin Hofman’s Rubber Duck Project first came to Hong Kong, when it showcased only a single duck at the time. The 2023 ducks made a surprise appearance at Tam Kon Shan Road shipyard last month when they underwent a sea trial, and officially went on view on June 10.
Videos of the duck being deflated went viral on social media over the weekend, with many recalling how the duck also deflated during its 2013 showing in the city. The pair currently on view are expected to remain at Victoria Harbour until June 24.
Header image credits: @doubleducks_official via Instagram
