Aloes in Wonderland

The Succulent Garden at Flower Dome is presented as ‘Aloes in Wonderland’, inspired by the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Spot Alice, the Cheshire Cat, the Rabbit, the Knave, the Caterpillar and the Queen of Hearts! These bronze sculptures were created by British sculptors Robert Ellis and James Coplestone of the Robert James Workshop, who delight in transforming characters in literary masterpieces into enchanting bronze sculptures. The characters were first modelled in clay and then cast in bronze using the cire perdue (lost wax) process.

To strengthen the fantasy theme, the characters are complemented with larger than life driftwood mushroom sculptures by James Doran-Webb.

The Wyvern

A long time collaborator of the Gardens, James Doran-Webb has contributed close to 40 stunning driftwood sculptures to the Gardens, and counting.

Here at The Baobabs, you will see a magnificent wyvern sculpture by the British sculptor, overlooking the Flower Dome. The wyvern is a mythical winged creature known for its endurance and strength, and is often associated with dragons. Envisioned by the artist as a paternal guardian figure, the wyvern’s posture and well-built physique radiate dynamic strength and power. 

Pukumani Tutini sculptures

At Australian Garden, you will find nine elaborate Pukumani tutini sculptures by five indigenous artists from the Tiwi Islands. The Tiwi Islands are located 80km north of Darwin, Australia. These abstract sculptures celebrate Tiwi art, culture and heritage. “Tutini” is a Tiwi word that refers to the ornate poles that are closely associated with the Pukumani or funeral ceremony, one of the most significant ceremonies in Tiwi culture. 

The final Pukumani ceremony is performed several months after a person’s passing and burial, and is believed to ensure that the spirit of the deceased goes into the spirit world. Several tutini are commissioned by the in-laws of the deceased and erected at the gravesite. They are decorated to celebrate the dead person's life, status and spiritual journey.

La Famille de voyageurs

‘La Famille de voyageurs’ (A travelling family) depicts a family visiting Gardens by the Bay before heading home. As they depart Singapore, they take with them beautiful memories and leave a part of themselves behind. Inspired by the universal theme of travel, French sculptor Bruno Catalano’s eye-catching works, with their dashed bodies and the deliberate lack of volume, invite the viewer to mentally reconstruct the possibility of the human potential.

Winnie the Pooh sculptures

See if you can spot Winnie the Pooh and his closest friends, Christopher Robin and Piglet at the Olive Grove! The cold cast bronze sculptures are again handcrafted by sculptors Robert Ellis and James Coplestone and complement our interpretation of a floral Hundred Acre Wood. The colours on the sculptures, known as patina, are produced on the bronze surface by oxidation, using acid, alkaline or heat.

Rush of Nature

‘Rush of Nature’ is another prominent art piece at the Gardens. This monumental work by Marc Quinn is a 6-feet high, delicately-painted bronze sculpture of a phalaenopsis orchid with 15 coloured layers, each painstakingly stripped back so that each colour is visible. This emphasises the subtle lines of the flower. Coincidentally, the phalaenopsis orchid’s elegant form was the inspiration behind the master plan and conceptual framework for Gardens by the Bay.

A Matter of Time

Crafted from driftwood, ‘A Matter of Time’ is one of Paul Baliker’s most recognisable works. This piece at the Gardens is the Asian-themed version of the original sculpture that is on permanent display in the Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Museum in San Antonio, Texas. 

Taking the shape of a clock, the art piece represents the connection between man and nature and aims to invoke the viewers’ thoughts about the plight of the environment. 

Botanical Sculpture “Hybrid” Series (Vol. 1 – 4)

This series of four sculptures by renowned Japanese floral artist, Azuma Makoto, depicts one-of-a-kind “crosses” between plants, imaginatively fused together by the artist’s creativity.

Among these is the fusion of a tulip and a fern, anchored by an enormous, unfurling frond. Nearby, rising up on an upright stem, is a whimsical cross between a phalaenopsis orchid and an anthurium. A 2.5-metre-tall, white calla lily-pitcher plant hybrid, connected tenuously by a slender tendril, is situated a short distance away.

Nearer to the ground, one spies a sculpture that is almost entirely white, save for soft hints of yellow that radiate from the centre of the blooming dahlia at its base, and the subtle greens and purples of the passionflower that crowns it.

Brick Block Plant Sculptures

When you ascend the stairs to the Lost World in Cloud Forest, you will be greeted by large, brightly coloured brick block plant sculptures set amongst a variety of carnivorous plants frequently found in cloud forests. 

Commissioned by the Gardens and put together by a group of local brick block enthusiasts, these larger-than-life-sized sculptures are a fun take on three distinctive carnivorous plants — the venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), trumpet pitcher (Sarracenia spp.), and pitcher plant (Nepenthes spp.). 

Rocks

Mother Nature’s creativity can be seen in the massive rocks displayed at The Canyon, which bear unusual shapes naturally formed over time. There are 60 unique rock sculptures, which are more than a thousand years old and made of granite. These rocks, of which the largest measures 9m across and the tallest is 7m in height, were sourced from Shandong, China by the Gardens by the Bay team over a period of three years.

Huabiao (华表)

The Huabiao (华表), or Chinese totem, is an ornamental stone column often seen in traditional Chinese architecture. It was believed to be first used by the early Chinese as a signage for roads. Traditionally crafted from marble or jade, it often features intricately carved dragons, which are symbols of authority and prosperity. In modern times, the Huabiao has been reinterpreted as a decorative feature in architecture. Here at The Canyon, there are two crafted out of granite. The taller one (pictured) is 10m in height and towers over the calm waters of Marina Bay.

Marco Drago

Along the 400-metre-long dragon-shaped trail at The Canyon, you will find a metal dragon sculpture with outstretched filigreed wings perched atop a rock facing the Far East Organization Children's Garden. The sculpture is inspired by an original story by Mr John Koh, the donor of the art piece, which tells the tale of how a dragon named Marco Drago journeyed to the East and found its way to Gardens by the Bay.

Dragonfly

The dragonfly is a symbol of Gardens by the Bay, because it is attracted to healthy ecosystems and represents the Gardens’ environmental sustainability efforts. This dragonfly perched on an organically sculptured rock is another work by Italian sculptor Simone Belotti. Like Marco Drago, the dragonfly is made out of salvaged metal, characteristic of the artist, who incorporates a range of recycled or salvaged materials into his art works.

Mama Gaya crocodile 

This large wooden crocodile is called ‘Mama Gaya’, which means the mother’s power or strength. It was carved from a single tree trunk of a rain tree (Samanea saman) and is the work of a Timorese sculptor. The menacing large crocodile with its mouth open wide is softened by the addition of numerous baby crocodiles that make the sculpture alive and amusing. The crocodile is a symbol of East Timor, where legend tells of the transformation of a crocodile into the current island, with the ridges of its back represented by the mountains that run from the east to the west of the island.

Floral Clock

Gifted by Audemars Piguet, this seven-metre-wide Floral Clock draws inspiration from the signature characteristics of Swiss watchmaker's Royal Oak collection and fuses traditional and contemporary landscaping elements in its design. Featuring tropical plants with coloured foliage and flowers, its plant palette is refreshed regularly for the public to enjoy. With clock hands guided by Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, the Floral Clock ties in with Gardens by the Bay’s drive to integrate botany with technology.

Resting Budai

This sculpture represents a laughing Buddhai who is at rest under a bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa), which is the same species of tree where the Buddha, Siddharta Gautama, once reached enlightenment. Not to be confused with the Buddha, the laughing Buddhai represents a later Buddhist figure who conveys the message that good life is within reach in the present world, through self-mastery, a happy demeanour, purposeful endeavour, profound commitment to the welfare of others and enlightened awareness. Situated aptly between the two gardens, the sculpture also conveys the trajectory of Buddhism from its beginnings in India to its subsequent move to China.

Diaspora 

The departure from the enclosed part of the Chinese Garden is marked by a modern piece of sculpture, known as ‘Diaspora’, or ‘Li Xiang (离乡)’ which translates to “leaving one’s home or native place”. The two-piece sculpture illustrates the Chinese departure from their homeland through the placement of one hollow half before the water feature representing the ocean, and the cut out half approaching the Malay Garden. It reflects how early Chinese immigrants arrived from various provinces in search of a better life in Singapore. The sculpture was left rough and grey around the edges, but was polished on the hollow inside and along the exterior outlines of the man’s figure, providing a beautiful shiny dark texture.

Fig and Fig Wasp

Located at the Web of Life themed garden which celebrates the interrelationships between flora and fauna, the sculpture’s design drew inspiration from the symbiotic relationship between the fig and its pollinator, the fig wasp. Approximately 24,500 plantlets of 14 varieties of the waffle plant and joyweed were planted into the foundational galvanised steel frame of the sculpture. The assorted shades of green, purple, red and yellow help to make the wasps, branches and figs distinct from one another.

Planet

PThis impressive bronze cast sculpture is 9m long and 3m tall, and represents an exact, though oversized, reproduction of Marc Quinn’s own son Lucas as a baby. The sculpture’s weight is masterfully balanced on the infant’s right hand, creating the illusion that the sculpture is floating in the air. Created in 2008, the sculpture was exhibited for the first time at the Beyond Limits exhibition of contemporary sculpture at Chatsworth House, then later at the 2012 The Littoral Zone, at the Musee Oceanographic in Monaco.

Water features

To augment the feeling of calm, a central water feature lies at the heart of Serene Garden, while steps away is a mini waterfall. Bioswales are also incorporated into Serene Garden’s design, which help to purify water that passes through. The bioswales are lined with black pumice rocks, which act as filters that remove debris and impurities in the water and give the bioswales an organic look.

Rocks

Serene Garden features a collection of rocks in three different colours – blue, red and gray. The largest is a 15.1-tonne blue rock, while the smallest is a 0.5-tonne red rock. The 160 red and blue rocks flanking Serene Garden’s two sides were handpicked and brought in from Niyodo, Japan. Niyodo rocks are well known for their interesting texture and are highly treasured by the Japanese. The central segment features locally-sourced gray granite rocks. Interestingly, some of them hail from the Bukit Timah granite quarry, and have been in the area since 1987, way before the Gardens was developed!