Giant Flower Festival

Scent design for Amorphophallus titanum (corpse flower) and Victoria amazonica (giant water lily) blooming performances by Ingela Ihrman.

When: 20–21 February 2026
Where: Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne, VIC

These performances were presented as part of The giant flower festival, celebrating the opening of the exhibition A velvet ant, a flower and a bird, curated by Chus Martínez.

Scents were released live during the performances using handheld spray mechanisms.

Victoria amazonica - Giant Water Lily

A luminous, night-blooming white flower from the Amazon rainforest, with a soft, fruity scent carrying notes of pineapple. The fragrance is released after dusk to attract pollinators.

Amorphophallus - Corpse Flower

A deliberately confronting scent, recreating the pungent odour of rotting flesh, with sulphurous notes of onion and aged cheese. This night-blooming rainforest flower emits its smell after dark, using decay as a strategy to attract pollinators.