The giant inflatable duck that appeared on Dubai Creek this week has caused a stir after it emerged it is not a piece of art that has toured the world – but is in fact a replica bought in China.
7DAYS reported on Monday how people went quackers for the 18m rubber bird that was launched on the creek on Sunday. It was part of a campaign by green mobile car wash firm GeoWash to create awareness about the importance of water conservation while also celebrating the 42nd UAE National Day and Dubai’s Expo 2020 win.
In an email to 7DAYS on November 27, GeoWash wrote: “On behalf of GeoWash, the UAE’s largest environment-friendly mobile car wash service, you are invited to a press briefing to announce the arrival in Dubai of the giant floating duck sculpture which has in the past toured Amsterdam, Lommel, Osaka, Sydney Harbour, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong and most recently, Pittsburgh, USA where over 1,000,000 people are reported to have visited the duck.”
The message contained a link to the website of that bird’s creator Florentijn Hofman. At the launch, GeoWash officials ducked away from suggestions that they had stated their bird was Hofman’s creation, insisting they were just adopting a similar concept to promote water conservation.
But the stunt still had Hofman in a flap.
“They used my project to benefit from the attention. They even referred to my duck on their facebook page and used my pictures,” he said. “The one in Dubai is a pirate version. My duck is in Taiwan.”
Hofman believes copying his duck is “a big infringement” because his duck is a “global artwork”. He said he contacted GeoWash when he learned about their event from fellow Dutchmen living in Dubai who wanted to know if it was ‘the real duck’.
“GeoWash deleted their tweets and posts because we contacted them and told them they had to abort because they are not allowed to use my name,” he added. And he said the move had sunk his plans for his duck to dock in Dubai.
He said: “We were talking to some people in Dubai about our world tour. This has spoiled the possibility.”
He added he was seeking legal advice on the matter. On Monday, Abdulla Al Shehi, CEO of Geowash told 7DAYS: “It is our understanding that different versions of the floating duck sculpture were created by many cities in the world and we created our version of a floating duck, which in no way involved the artist in the design stage. The artist has contacted us as it was mistakenly reported he was the designer behind our version of the floating duck and we have clarified the issue with him.
“Our duck in the UAE is on a local mission to promote water conservation.”
The firm later told 7DAYS that its duck hasn’t toured anywhere, having been bought in China and shipped to Dubai.- 7 Days
