By Ng Ai Fern
Find your “key” in life at the international debut of SKULLPANDA CAGE-UNCAGE Singapore at the National Museum of Singapore.
Running from 12 December 2025 to 22 February 2026, the exhibition invites visitors on a journey of self discovery through the deeper narrative behind the popular SKULLPANDA character.
SKULLPANDA, one of POP MART’s successful collectible characters, is created by Chinese artist Xiong Miao. Unlike the playful, mischievous Labubu, SKULLPANDA is dreamy and introspective – a character with a skull-like face wearing an astronaut-style helmet that reflects its inner world.
A quest for the “key”
This immersive and thought-exploring showcase is built around a search for the “key,” connecting the dual states of “caged” and “uncaged” that define SKULLPANDA’s conflicting thoughts.
Visitors begin with The Key, where fragmented mirrors and scattered keys invite reflection on the boundaries between reality and endless possibilities. The journey continues through six themed zones – Emotion, Fortune, Rules, Exploration, Life and Direction – each offering a glimpse into SKULLPANDA’s inner landscape.
Visitors can also become active participants by rotating a large cuboid. As the patterns break apart and reassemble. This simple motion mirrors exploration itself: shift your perspective, and the story changes; rearrange the pieces, and a new meaning appears.
The Room: the heart of the showcase
At the centre of the exhibition sits The Room, a mirrored chamber linking all six zones. Two SKULLPANDA sculptures sit back-to-back, each holding a key.
The scene symbolises a familiar tension – the weight of being held back and the hope of breaking free. The mirrors create an abstract cityscape that blurs inside and outside, confinement and possibility, the finite and the infinite. Somewhere within these reflections lies the “answer” – the key held by the sculpture, and metaphorically, by the viewer.
And yes, just like SKULLPANDA, visitors eventually discover their own “key.”
A Singapore-exclusive installation
Exclusive to the Singapore edition of the showcase is an installation that pays homage to bird singing, a beloved pastime enjoyed in Singapore’s housing estates among enthusiasts. Suspended bird cages present the original prototype figurines from the SKULLPANDA TheParadox Series,
Presented by POP MART in collaboration with the character’s creator, Chinese artist Xiong Miao, and in partnership with the National Museum of Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board, SKULLPANDA CAGE-UNCAGE Singapore presents a visual journey that delves into the tensions between containment and release that exist within our decisions.
Showcase-exclusive merchandise is available at the Gallery Theatre retail zone for ticket holders, subject to eligibility and purchase limits. Additional POP MART items can be found at the POP-UP store in the museum’s Longer Concourse.
Tickets are available at NMS at their official website or through the showcase’s ticketing partner Trip.com, priced from $36 (RM115) for Malaysian tourists.
The National Museum of Singapore – the country’s oldest museum – is located at 93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897.
Travel Note
Direct flights from Kuching, Sibu and Miri to Singapore are available via AirAsia and Scoot. AirBorneo will begin connecting to Singapore next year.
