Following the death of Longboi, YUSU President, Pierrick Roger, began crowdfunding for a memorial statue dedicated to Longboi. Today, Roger announced that the winning artist who will be creating the sculpture is Neil R Mason.
Mason is a wildlife sculptor who will be reviving Longboi in the form of a bronze life size sculpture of the beloved duck. Rodger stated, "Students and staff who wanted to see Long Boi memorialised were very adamant that the statue be bronze, life-sized and installed outside on campus. I am very happy that we have been able to select a statue that will meet the expectations of our donors.
I'm convinced Neil will be able to do Long Boi justice and I look forward to working with him to deliver this project. I would like to thank all donors for their patience over the past few months whilst we selected the statue and to the Panel members who helped us decide on the open call's final outcome."
Long Boi was first reported missing by Nouse on 5 May and then on the 11 May, the University announced through a statement on BBC Radio One that they were “forced to conclude that [Longboi] had passed away” going on to state that they “appreciate this is not the resolution that many people were wishing for”
Since the passing of Longboi, the University has done a lot to remember the iconic member of the University community. They first released Longboi merchandise after the death of the duck but have also recently announced a T-Shirt designing competition for a new Longboi themed product.
As well as that, there is currently a Longboi art trail to celebrate 60 years of bioscience at York. Students can view the art across campus; each Longboi is decorated differently.
Roger added on the crowdfunding page that “The memorial to His Royal Löngthness will be with us very soon. He may be long, but he will not be forgotten”.