Singapore is experiencing a new kind of flower frenzy, this time centered on fake blooms. Australian artist Cj Hendry’s pop-up installation, Flower Market, opened on June 10 at IMBA Theatre’s gallery space at Gardens by the Bay and immediately drew long queues, with some visitors waiting up to 120 minutes to get inside. The installation runs until June 14 and presents hundreds of plush flowers arranged in buckets for visitors to select.
Each visitor is allowed to take one flower stalk for free, while additional stalks cost $7 each. Social media videos showed large crowds lining up outside the venue, while those who managed to enter were seen quickly gathering armfuls of plush flowers, often using large tote bags to carry them out. The strong demand also spilled into the resale market, with more than 10 listings appearing on Carousell, where bouquets of seven stems were offered for as much as $91. Some sellers even advertised concierge-style services, offering to buy flowers on behalf of interested buyers for a fee.
The installation features more than 30 flower types, including eight Singapore-exclusive designs inspired by local species. Among them are the national flower Vanda Miss Joaquim, the Raffles’ Pitcher Plant and the Singapore Lipstick flower. According to IMBA, the blooms will be replenished based on availability, and there are no plans to cap the number of flowers a visitor may purchase.
IMBA chief executive officer Michael Lee said crowd management measures have been introduced to ensure a safe and comfortable experience. These include timed registrations, controlled venue capacity, managed entry and exit flows, and queue marshals. Although pre-registration slots are full, walk-ins are still accepted daily from 9am to 9pm. Walk-in registration closes at 7.30pm, and last entry is at 8pm, depending on capacity. IMBA also said waiting-time updates for walk-in queues will be posted on its Instagram account to help visitors plan ahead.
Flower Market is Hendry’s South-east Asian debut and follows earlier stops in cities including New York, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Sydney. The artist, who is based in New York, is known for immersive public installations that often blur the line between art, consumer culture and spectacle. Her past works include inflatable flower displays in Aspen in 2025 and a 50m-long public pool installation in the Las Vegas desert in 2024. She is also recognized for highly detailed pencil drawings of everyday objects.
Hendry’s Singapore showcase arrives ahead of another local premiere: an inflatable experience inspired by her juju collectible toy, a bunny-like figure with a flower over its left eye. That ticketed event opens on June 20 and runs until July 18, with limited large-sized jujus created exclusively for Singapore.
