M+, Asia’s global museum of contemporary visual culture in the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK) in Hong Kong, is pleased to present Lee Mingwei: Guernica in Sand, a large-scale installation and performance staged in The Studio at M+. In this work, Lee Mingwei (American, born Taiwan, 1964) recreates Pablo Picasso’s iconic masterpiece Guernica on a massive scale with sand. The installation will open to the public free of charge from tomorrow to Sunday, 13 July 2025. It runs parallel to the Special Exhibition The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia—A Conversation, on display in the West Gallery between 15 March and 13 July 2025.
In indigenous and religious traditions around the world, sand painting often embodies impermanence and change. Through this unexpected material, Lee brings these ideas to Picasso’s monumental work. Shaken by the bombing of the town of Guernica in Spain during the country’s civil war, Picasso created several works to express his hatred of war, the most famous being Guernica (1937). By rendering the scenes of violence depicted in Guernica in this transitory medium, Lee invites us to reconsider the nature of chaos and highlights the creative power of transformation.
A small section at the top of the sand painting will remain unfinished. Towards the end of the display, Lee will stage a live performance on Saturday, 28 June 2025 in which he and other performers complete the final part of the work while visitors are invited to walk on the sand, blurring the image as it is being drawn. The performers will then gently sweep the sand in spontaneous movements, making a new, abstract composition. In this way, Lee creates a harmonious cycle of creation and destruction. For more details about the performance, please check the M+ website.
Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+, articulating the vision behind juxtaposing contemporary and modern masterpieces, says, ‘Lee Mingwei: Guernica in Sand reflects M+’s ongoing exploration of how contemporary artists engage with and transform iconic works of art. This display exemplifies our vision to present innovative artistic practices that inspire deep reflection and communal experiences. By showing works of Pablo Picasso and Lee Mingwei in parallel, we invite visitors to join us in a multifaceted dialogue on modern and contemporary visual culture, where art converses across time, place, and culture within our museum.’
Pauline J. Yao, Guest Curator, providing insight into Lee’s artistic approach, says, ‘Lee Mingwei’s practice has consistently focused on creating intimate interactions that transcend boundaries and turn museum visits into profound encounters. In Guernica in Sand, he creates a contemplative space, allowing visitors to move beyond the criticism of violence and to explore the transformative power that emerges in the aftermath of catastrophes. By choosing sand as his medium—a material that embodies both fragility and the potential for renewal—he offers a meditation on how we process historical trauma.’
Lee Mingwei says, ‘Creating Guernica in Sand is both an homage to Picasso’s masterpiece and an exploration of how we might view historical violence and sacrifice through a different lens. Through the participatory act of walking on and sweeping away the sand painting, I hope to create a shared experience that transforms our understanding of loss and renewal, revealing how transformation can emerge from the ruins of history.’
Lee Mingwei: Guernica in Sand is generously supported by Travel Partner Cathay.
About Lee Mingwei
Born in Taichung in 1964, Lee Mingwei is an internationally recognised artist known for his pioneering installations that foreground audience participation and interaction. Educated in Taiwan, Lee moved to the United States to attend art school at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now CCA) and received his MFA in sculpture from Yale University in 1997. Lee’s work focuses on one-on-one interactions and open-ended scenarios that transcend cultural and political boundaries and address our human desire for connectedness. Through acts that foster generosity, intimacy, and trust, Lee turns everyday museum visits into moments of transformative experience. His work The Letter Writing Project (1998) in the M+ Collections was part of the museum’s opening exhibition Individuals, Networks, Expressions, in which more than 100,000 people participated by contributing letters. Sonic Blossom (2013) was featured in the Focus Gallery from August to September 2024. Lee’s work has been showcased in solo and group exhibitions at institutions including the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Tate Modern, London; Gropius Bau, Berlin; Sydney Modern; Taipei Fine Art Museum; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (now the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art), Beijing; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts Boston; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. He has also been featured in biennials in Venice, Lyon, Sharjah, Liverpool, Taipei, Sydney, Echigo-Tsumari, Whitney, and multiple editions of the Asia Pacific Triennial.