Lee Mingwei:
Guernica in Sand
Lee Mingwei:
Guernica in Sand
13 Jul 2025
M+ presents Lee Mingwei: Guernica in Sand, a large-scale installation and performance to be staged in The Studio. Taking Pablo Picasso’s iconic 1937 masterpiece Guernica, painted in response to the violence of the Spanish Civil War, as its departure point, Lee Mingwei recreates this painting in sand—a material that connotes impermanence and instability. This meticulously crafted work references the indigenous and religious traditions of sand paintings found around the world. Towards the end of the display, a live performance will take place in which visitors are invited to walk on the sand painting. Four performers will then gently sweep the sand in spontaneous movements that simultaneously destroy and recreate the image anew.
The performance is scheduled to take place in late June. Please check this webpage closer to the date for additional details.
This presentation runs parallel to the Special Exhibition, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Picasso for Asia—A Conversation, on display in the West Gallery.
Image at top: Lee Mingwei. Guernica in Sand, 2006–present. Installation view of Lee Mingwei and His Relations: The Art of Participation, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, 2015. Image courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum