On December 16, Hong Kong’s M+ museum awarded this year’s Sigg Prize to Heidi Lau and Wong Ping, marking the first time the institution has named two winners for the accolade. The jury cited the artists’ contrasting approaches, which “share equally profound reflections on contemporary life.” 

Works by all six finalists are currently on view in the Sigg Prize 2025 exhibition at M+. New York- and Macau-based Lau’s large-scale installation of ceramic sculptures, titled Pavilion Procession (2025), features a kinetic spider made of clay and mechanical components. Drawing on the ancient Chinese mythology of Shanhaijing as well as her personal experiences with grief, the work explores how materiality and spatial arrangements can transmute mourning into a collective experience. Meanwhile, Wong’s Debts in the Wind (2025) is a playful video installation staged within a miniature theater that features artificial turf, golf balls, and a flagpole. Through his signature vibrant animations and dark humor, the Hong Kong-based artist explores the interconnected narratives and underlying power structures in our everyday life.

“We were deeply impressed by the works presented and decided to award two winners in this edition,” said Suhanya Raffel, M+ museum director and Sigg Prize jury chair, in a press release. The international jury also included Maria Balshaw, director of Tate in London; Gong Yan, director and artistic director of Power Station of Art in Shanghai; Mami Kataoka, director of Mori Art Museum in Tokyo; Glenn D. Lowry, former director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Uli Sigg, M+ board member and Swiss art collector; and Chinese artist Xu Bing.

Founded in 2018, the Sigg Prize aims to establish an international platform for contemporary artists from Greater China and its diasporas. Each winner will receive HKD 300,000 (USD 38,600), while each of the other four shortlisted artists—Bi Rongrong, Ho Rui An, Hsu Chia-Wei, and Pan Daijing—will be granted HKD 100,000 (USD 12,900).

The Sigg Prize 2025 exhibition runs through January 4, 2026.

Louis Lu is an associate editor at ArtAsiaPacific.