Lee Mingwei recreates Pablo Picasso’s Guernica (1937) on a massive scale using an unexpected material—sand. In indigenous and religious traditions around the world, sand painting often embodies impermanence and change. Lee brings these ideas to an iconic work of Cubism: Guernica, which Picasso painted in response to the brutality of the Spanish Civil War. By rendering scenes of horror and chaos in this transitory medium, Guernica in Sand invites us to reconsider the nature of violence and destruction, highlighting the creative power of transformation.

Towards the end of the exhibition, the artist will stage a performance in which he and other collaborators will complete the work while visitors walk on the sand, blurring the image as it is being finished. 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.

The performance will take place on 28 June 2025. Please click here for more details.

This presentation runs parallel to the Special Exhibition The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia—A Conversation in the West Gallery.