The Standard, Singapore Opens in Surreal Style

For the grand opening of The Standard, Singapore, artist and designer Eric Tobua didn’t just create an installation—he conjured a fully immersive world. His work, Dreamscape, debuted at the reception desk as a surrealist terrarium inspired by Singapore’s lush Gardens by the Bay. Inside: mossy hills, glowing orange groves, a crystal-clear pond, tropical flowers, colourful frogs and yes, a mermaid and a white snail with main-character energy. “I wanted to turn the property into a living dream,” Tobua says.

Influenced by surrealism’s ability to make the subconscious visible, Tobua let Dreamscape spill out beyond the glass case and across the property. The hotel’s tiered garden—with its waterfall, dense tropical foliage and layered structure—became the stage. “It was like the space was already dreaming,” he says. “I just gave it characters.” Orchid pole dancers performed overhead, a pianist dressed as a bush played live from the garden wall and guests followed orange-dotted paths through living installations where flower spirits and mythical creatures wandered freely.

From the café to the pool, every space became part of the story. Synchronized swimmers dressed as lotus flowers and frogs turned the water into a liquid fairytale, while an opera singer dressed as a tiger lily sang under the stars. Here, Tabua explains the elements behind his art.

The heart of this project began with ‘Dreamscape,’ my art installation at the hotel’s reception. Inspired by terrariums, Gardens by the Bay, and the lush tropical world of Singapore, it imagined a miniature fairytale within glass: mossy landscapes, the orange grove, tranquil ponds, glowing orchids, tropical flowers, plants and fantastical creatures like white snails, frogs and a mermaid.

For the launch, I brought that imagined world to life transforming it from static art into a living experience. Through costume design, immersive decoration, and layered storytelling, the garden became an extension of Dreamscape. Each corner offered a new chapter: dancers emerged as flower spirits, musicians became characters within the dream, and the hotel itself became a surreal stage where fantasy meets reality, and nature breathes through art.

At the heart of the garden stands a bold flower sculpture by a Singaporean artist Samuel Xun a symbol of life, bloom, and transformation. I designed costumes inspired by its vivid colours and flowing form, so that dancers emerge like spirits from the sculpture itself, blurring the line between art and life. As they dancing in celebration of the surreal.

An existing waterfall in the garden becomes a living centerpiece adorned with tropical flowers and plants arrangements that weave into the lush greenery already in place. It’s transformed into a masterpiece, where art, design and nature flow together in harmony.

Inspired by the Dreamscape and the hotel’s address on Orange Grove Road, this whimsical installation features artificial oranges, green leaves, and branches winding along the garden path and stair railings. It becomes a playful trail that leads guests deeper into the dream.

A green bush pianist dressed in a full costume of green leaves from head to toe emerges like a spirit from the vertical green wall of the garden, playing live music that breathes life into the space. As his classical music flows, flower dancers, orchid pole dancers, and whimsical creatures, the white snail dancing through the tiered garden, bringing the dreamscape to life.

A show-stopping moment of the night: an opera singer takes the stage in a costume inspired by a glowing orange tiger lily beneath a starry sky. Her voice echoes through the garden like a spell.

The hotel’s pool is transformed into a tranquil pond, inspired by the serene crystal waters of ‘Dreamscape’ In this magical setting, synchronized swimmers become a colourful frogs and lotus flowers, moving in harmony with the water. It’s a whimsical and immersive moment like stepping into a fairytale just beneath the stars.