Florentijn Hofman Floats a Giant Hippopotamus Down the River Thames

Artist Florentijn Hofman makes his way to the UK with his latest massive, aquatic sculpture: a river-bound hippopotamus. Meant to inspire conversation and give viewers a welcome break from their daily routines, the enormous 21-meter-long hippo is a bit of a departure from Florentijn’s inflatable duck in that it instead employs wood panel construction throughout. Built at the Royal Docks in East London, the hippo now resides at Nine Elms on the South Bank and will remain there as a part of this month’s Totally Thames celebration through September 28.