To emerging artists, stars are not something to be gazed upon but created by hand. One of these artists is Angel Hui Hoi-kiu, invited by Sing Tao News Corporation to present her work The Star Architect during the "2025 Leaders of the Year Awards" held by Sing Tao.
Displayed on The Henderson's top floor, Cloud 39, The Star Architect features more than a dozen plastic bags, embroidered with designs of goldfish and betta fish, that hang from a chandelier at the awards gala. Hui's use of gold and silver threads made the ceiling seem like a starry sky, lighting a beacon in the hearts of everyone present.
Goldfish symbolize prosperity and good fortune, while betta fish represent resilience in the face of adversity. With them soaring through light and shadow, the work reflects the agility, resilience, and foresight leaders need to navigate times of change and guide us through them. Hui said, "Every leader is a 'Star Architect' of their time, not only creating moments of brilliance but also leaving a mark for the future."
The Star Architect complements the chandelier at the awards gala.
Drawing inspiration from fireworks unfurling across the night and floating lanterns ascending toward the sky, Hui hopes the installation will guide the audience to look up, reimagining a city illuminated by vision and leadership, and propelled by the collective efforts of its people.
As one of the participating artists at this year's Venice Biennale, Hui jumped right into the project after her return, enduring months of all-nighters to pull off the piece.
Hui aligned the ceremony's theme – "Intelligence Drives the World, Innovation Creates the Extraordinary" – with her signature "plastic bag embroidery" technique, in which she transforms everyday objects into vessels that carry ideals.
This creative practice of reinterpreting the ordinary and creating the unfamiliar out of the familiar has been adopted by Hui for many years. Plastic bags filled with fish are a collective memory for Hongkongers. Hui entrusted the creation of the piece with this concept to Suzhou embroiderers, who stitched it together.
The work exhibits Suzhou embroidery techniques.
Angel Hui on the everyday, Hong Kong's art scene
Two months ago, emerging artist Angel Hui Hoi-kiu brought collective memories of Hong Kong to Venice, and is planning to go back to the Italian city. This time, rather than being an exhibitor in the spotlight, she is simply a member of the audience. "I want to truly appreciate other people's work from the perspective of a viewer," she shared.
In regard to her highly anticipated Venice Biennale pieces' return to Hong Kong, Hui revealed the works will be exhibited at the Museum of Art next year. She also hopes to explore Venice's glass craftsmanship and bring that foreign artistry back home, as well as to have a solo exhibition about reinterpreted daily items in the future.
Angel Hui attended the Venice Biennale in May and will return to Venice to learn about glass craftsmanship.
Although being a full-time local artist is not easy with Hong Kong's high rent – on top of the fact that Hui works in a crammed studio with large piles of work stacked in bunks, leaving little room to move around – she remains grateful as she sees social resources flooding into the art field and the public more eager to visit exhibitions on days off.
Hotels are also including artists' works in their vicinity, often supporting local art by displaying works in tucked-away corners. "These are places people don't usually mention. You really have to look closely to discover them," Hui noted.
On the side, Hui works as a part-time lecturer and encourages her students to embrace trial and error. "This is a journey of self-discovery; only after trying things out will you know what you truly want," she said, noting that mistakes are part of the learning process.
