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Internationally renowned for his gigantic works of art, Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman has created a 21 metre-long floating hippo sculpture which is semi-immersed to move with the tide. It is living at Riverside Gardens on the Southbank for the duration of the Totally Thames festival. The artist has form with larger-then-life structures; the most popular is probably his 54-foot-tall 'Rubber Duck' that is still making its way around the world's waters. So why a hippo? Firstly, Hofman is hoping ‘to give members of the public a break from their daily routines, to inspire conversation and to cause astonishment.’ Sure. Secondly, and this is where it gets interesting, he was inspired by the fact that there used to be hippos living on the River Thames!