Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, the man who brought the world the giant rubber duck and the giant floating hippo, has created another giant creature; a giant rabbit.
Earlier this week, Hofman’s newest creation was unveiled in Taoyuan Taiwan: a 25m sculpture of a white rabbit as part of the Taoyuan Land Arts Festival. This new sculpture lays facing the sky on top of an old school aircraft hangar in the middle of farmland.
Made up of waterproof paper, styrofoam and wood, many have commented that Hofman’s rabbit is his take on the traditional Chinese folklore creature, the lunar rabbit. This coming Monday is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.
As the legend goes, a famous archer once shot down all the lights in the sky but one. The ancient deities, impressed by the archer’s skill, bestowed upon him an elixir of immortality. Not wanting to leave his wife, the man kept the elixir hidden in his home.
This is where the legend starts to split, but jumping forward, the wife ends up consuming the elixir and in the process becoming a moon spirit. After ascending to the moon, she is kept company by the Jade Rabbit, an inhabitant of the moon. In most variations, the rabbit does nothing apart from keeping the wife company.
It’s expected that Hofman will show up at Taoyuan on September 6 to talk with locals and art enthusiasts about his work. This is Hofman’s second major work to hit Taiwan. His most famous work, the giant rubber duck that spawned memes and got banned in China, had also previously graced the island with its presence. Hopefully, the rabbit will be fine, considering the duck deflated a few times while in Taiwan.
“大黄鸭”之父台湾打造”月兔”迎中秋 [QQ News]
霍夫曼月兔亮光 [Apple Daily]
Pictures: “大黄鸭”之父台湾打造”月兔”迎中秋/21cn
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