Scalping, plastic use: CJ Hendry addresses issues surrounding Flower Market, JuJu World

Australian artist CJ Hendry is back with another exhibition in Singapore following the popular Flower Market earlier this month.

The floral installation held at Gardens by the Bay's IMBA Theatre saw huge crowds during its six-day run from June 10.

However, with attendees eligible to take home one plush flower for free and subsequent ones at $7 each, some visitors were also seen grabbing the Singapore-exclusive blooms by the handful to put into shopping bags.

Scalpers then attempted to sell them online.

On the buzz surrounding Flower Market, CJ told CNA: "A lot of people came in and got their free flowers and were so happy and excited to be there. And then some people come in and buy hundreds and scalp them. So be it.

"With something that's so commercial and something so accessible like Flower Market, it's free, and you get to take your first flower for free, hype comes with the territory."

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JuJu World

JuJu World, which is currently held at IMBA Theatre from June 20 and July 18, introduces visitors to JuJu, a collectible toy she designed using ChatGPT.

The exhibition, which costs $15 for adults and $10 for children to attend, includes a JuJu-themed ball pit, a slide and shelves of collectibles. 

For those wanting to bring a piece of the experience home, JuJu blind boxes retail at $39 each, but there are also larger limited-edition plushies exclusive to Singapore going for $99 each.

Addressing the use of artificial intelligence in her artwork, CJ told CNA: "I will just say, designing something on AI and actually making it are two different things.

"Anyone can make something on AI, building something in real life, much harder."

CJ created JuJu after Phillips Auction House approached her about designing a toy, she said. 

She went through about "30 to 40 iterations" of it on ChatGPT before arriving on the final result.

The comparisons to Pop Mart's Labubu are inevitable with any collectible toy, but CJ doesn't think the idea of the latter, designed by Hong Kong-Dutch artist Kasing Lung, is long-lasting with "a lot of storytelling".

"I'm an artist who's really focused on storytelling and a bigger perspective and narrative with building these in-person exhibitions, and I've been doing these for many years," she said. 

"So, it's not really a comparison. There's been a lot of bag charms over the years, so anyone can draw as many reference points as they want."

Some stood behind CJ's use of AI, calling the criticisms a part of a "social experiment" by the artist.

"Art has continuously evolved alongside human creativity and technology. AI-generated art is simply another stage in that evolution," a netizen wrote.

Another netizen hit back, saying: "[AI steals] human art without compensating the original artist and that's why people hate generative AI content, because it has always been nothing but cheap stolen imitations of real works made by real people."

"At least Labubu is by an artist's original thinking and art, not AI," one pointed out.

Recycling plastic

The plastic use in JuJu World has also been a point of contention.

In a video on Friday (June 19), CJ addressed the criticisms and explained how she reuses the material from her exhibitions, which she has been holding for around 10 years.

"What I've done over the years is that I've designed a kids' plastic chair where we chop up all the plastic and we put it into this kids' chair, which is loved by many," she said.

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While many netizens lauded the innovative recycling of the plastics, others still had concerns when it came to creating new plastic products for her art.

"I admire you, but no explanation can balance such an amount of plastic," a comment read.

Another read: "A decade is enough time to discover sustainable materials and lead the charge, though."

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drimac@asiaone.com