M+ presents Sonic Blossom, a celebrated performative installation by Lee Mingwei (b. 1964), in the Focus Gallery. Sonic Blossom is a live performance which features trained opera singers approaching a visitor in the museum galleries to offer the gift of song. It is inspired by the artist’s experience of caring for his mother during her recovery from surgery, when they both took solace in listening to Franz Schubert’s Lieder. With five chosen Lieder and a group of Hong Kong-based classical singers, Sonic Blossom transforms these songs into an extraordinary offering that elicits spontaneous moments of joy, sadness, and connection. Taiwan-born Lee Mingwei is an internationally recognised artist with a pioneering practice that foregrounds experience and artistic participation. Educated in Taiwan and the United States, Lee is part of a generation of artists who began to incorporate participatory elements into their art in the 1990s. Lee’s work, however, has always taken a different approach, transcending cultural and political boundaries to cut to the core of the human experience and reveal our desire for connectedness. Sonic Blossom follows the success of the interactive installation The Letter Writing Project (1998), which was on view in our collection-based exhibition Individuals, Networks, Expressions from November 2021 to November 2023.

Sonic Blossom (2024) is organised by M+ in collaboration with The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

Performance schedule: 

Tuesday–Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday: 14:00–17:00

Friday: 14:00–18:00

Performers:

Brendan-Keefe Au, Jeannie Chen, Chen Qijing Victoria, Huen Tsz Ying Lieserl, Kam Kayiu Gary, Chea Kang, Becky Lau, Li Zixian Alice, Li Cho Shun Jason