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Chloe Loung

Angelica Lee Sinje is a woman of many talents.
The Malaysia-born actress and pop singer, who starred alongside Shu Qi in the recent Netflix revenge horror, The Resurrected, showed her skill on the other side of the camera in 2023 when she co-produced the critically acclaimed Malaysian crime drama Abang Adik.
But in a quiet gallery in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan neighbourhood, she revealed yet another, lesser-known talent: for painting.
Her solo exhibition at 13a New Street Art Gallery, called “Childtopia”, could not be more different in mood to The Eye, the 2002 horror for which she won various best actress awards, or The Resurrected, in which she plays a grieving and vengeful mother.

Instead, her paintings serve up a dose of warm, sickly-sweet nostalgia. The Chinese title of the exhibition, “Tong But Lut”, is named after the chewy Cantonese glutinous rice dessert.
The collection of more than 20 paintings can be seen as intimate portals into the inner world of the mother of three, weaving together personal reflections with a universal longing for the innocence of youth.
“The surface of the tong but lut rice balls is coated with a sticky peanut powder that cannot be washed away, symbolising the innocence that forever resides in our hearts,” Lee says. “I want to send forward a sense of purity, a childlike wonder in a life that we know to be so busy and complicated.”
She adds that she uses circular canvases, echoing the shape of the dessert, to evoke a sense of reunion, completeness and the cyclical nature of memory.
Each painting resembles the round face of a small child, embedded with varying colours and themes to describe a particular emotion or a specific memory for Lee.

One piece is an intimate portrait of her infant son, asleep with a dummy. Another, more abstract, painting tells the story of a boy’s magical transformation into a fish as he leaps into the ocean.
“Another element I wanted to focus on was the impact that nature had on me as a child,” she says.
Lee grew up in Alor Setar, a city north of Penang on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. “My family lived in the countryside, and I grew up running in the field, playing in the mud, climbing trees. It was freedom in every sense of the word,” she says.
“I wanted to capture that feeling, that unrestrained, liberating happiness. I feel that same joy in painting. It brings a spirit of wildness to my heart that nothing else can.”
Even the names of the artworks are meant to provoke untethered delight.
Titles such as Pineapple Bun, Ginger Milk Curd and Rice Cake evoke the indelible sensory imprint of childhood comfort foods, while also serving as a heartfelt nod to Hong Kong’s rich culture, which Lee became intimately connected with during her years living in the city from 2001 to 2007.

This connection sparked a playful idea. “Maybe I should do a series for every city I visit and name them after other local sweets,” she jokes.
Beyond the new paintings, the exhibition delves deeper into Lee’s personal and artistic history.
It includes four pieces from her 2023 Taipei solo exhibition, “Beyond Silence”, that are in marked contrast to the childlike new paintings. These are large canvases that she laboriously covered in fine, repetitive patterns reminiscent of Yayoi Kusama’s paintings. There are also three installation and mixed-media works connected to Lee’s family.
Two special audio installations offer an intimate glimpse into her world. In one, Lee herself narrates the story of her grandmother, Liu Yay Ue, revealing the roots of her creative awakening. In another, her son recites nostalgic Cantonese advertising jingles.
The opening ceremony for “Childtopia” was attended by some of Lee’s high-profile friends and peers, including Sylvia Chang, Gigi Leung and Jan Lamb.
“Childtopia” – Sinje Lee Solo Exhibition, 13a New Street Art Gallery, 13a New Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, November 7-30, 2025. Wednesdays to Sundays, 12pm-7pm.


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Angelica Lee Sinje evokes the ‘liberating happiness’ of childhood in her Hong Kong art show

Angelica Lee Sinje stands before some of her paintings featured in Childtopia, her first Hong Kong solo exhibition, at 13a New Street Art Gallery in Sheung Wan. Photo: 13A New Street Art Gallery

Angelica Lee Sinje (right) and Shu Qi in a still from The Resurrected. Photo: Netflix

A promotional poster for Childtopia, Lee’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong. Photo: 13A New Street Art Gallery

Lee’s painting Rice Cake is featured at the exhibition. Photo: 13A New Street Art Gallery

Kazakh fabric artist’s Hong Kong exhibition reflects on heritage and ‘historical traumas’

Kazakh artist Gulnur Mukazhanova stands beside her installation False Hope or Moment of the Present, at the Mills in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. The piece, on show until November 30, kicks off her exhibition Dowry of the Soul, which runs from November 14 to March 1, 2026. Photo: Chat

False Hope or Moment of the Present, by Gulnur Mukazhanova, seen from below. Photo: Chat

Mukazhanova says that memories are woven into the fabric, but over time, these textiles lose their practical value. Photo: Chat

Mukazhanova purposely chooses fabric for her art that has a link to the place it is being shown. Photo: Chat

Gulnur’s False Hope or Moment of the Present seen from above. Photo: Chat

One of Mukazhanova’s pieces featured at the exhibition. Photo: Chat

Some of Gulnur’s works honour those killed in 2022 by Kazakhstani security forces. Photo: Kaelan Burkett

Who is Cai Guo-qiang, and will the artist’s reputation survive recent controversies?

Outdoor apparel brand Arc’teryx worked with Chinese artist Cai Guo-qiang to set off fireworks at the foot of the Himalayas in a publicity stunt. We delve into who Cai is and why he is sometimes seen as controversial. Photo: Handout

Fireworks explode over the skyline during a show by Cai Guo-qiang titled City of Flowers in the Sky, in Florence, Italy, in November 2018. Photo: ANSA via AP

Taroko Gorge (2009) by Cai, on display at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2017. Photo: Nora Tam

Cai’s Heritage (2013) at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia. Photo: courtesy of Natasha Harth/GoMA

A visitor looks at AI-created gunpowder paintings at Cai’s exhibition at the MGM Macau for the Art Macao Festival. Photo: Handout

A still from Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang, a documentary on the artist. Photo: Netflix

Architecture meets movement at coming performances at Hong Kong Freespace Dance festival

(From left) Nadim Abbas (visual)  and Chan Wai-lok (choreography) will premiere No Time To Die: An Inert Liquid Assembly on November 20 in Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

(From left) Nadim Abbas and Chan Wai-lok at the Xiqu Centre. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Cecilia Cheung: Hong Kong actress, sex scandal victim and Chinese social media star

Cecilia Cheung at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2004. The actress’ personal life garnered a lot of attention in the 2000s, with tabloids covering scandals and her high-profile romantic life. Photo: SCMP

Cheung in 1999. Photo: Oliver Tsang

Cheung speaks after receiving the award for best new performer, as veteran actors Liza Wang and Danny Lee look on, at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. Photo: Martin Chan

Cheung and Nicholas Tse in 2001. Photo: Reuters

Cheung in a still from Lost in Time (2003), for which she won best actress at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards. Photo: China Star Entertainment Group

Cheung and Tse at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2011, the year they filed for divorce. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Cheung and Stephen Chow in a still from King of Comedy (1999). Her feature-film debut remains one of her most memorable roles. Photo: The Star Overseas

Cheung and her three sons. Photo: Weibo

Cheung in a photo she posted on her Weibo account in 2023. Photo: Weibo

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In Childtopia, Lee’s first solo exhibition in the city, the actress-singer’s round paintings pay homage to Cantonese desserts and innocence


In Childtopia, Lee’s first solo exhibition in the city, the actress-singer’s round paintings pay homage to Cantonese desserts and innocence.


Angelica Lee Sinje evokes the ‘liberating happiness’ of childhood in her Hong Kong art show

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}In Childtopia, Lee’s first solo exhibition in the city, the actress-singer’s round paintings pay homage to Cantonese desserts and innocence

In Childtopia, Lee’s first solo exhibition in the city, the actress-singer’s round paintings pay homage to Cantonese desserts and innocence