Jamus Lim Celebrates Life and Legacy of Artist Ho Ho Ying

Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim honoured artist Ho Ho Ying in a Nov 5 (Saturday) Facebook post. 

Mr Ho, a Sengkang resident and the recipient of the Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts in 2012, passed away earlier this week.

Assoc Prof Lim wrote that Mr Ho had caught Covid-19 earlier in the pandemic, and had been quarantined at the Expo facility. His bout with the virus left him in poor health, and he died on Oct 31 at the age of 86.

Aside from being a prominent pioneer of modern art whose works were exhibited in countries such as Australia, China, France, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam, Mr Ho was also a writer and art critic.

The Sengkang GRC MP posted a photo of one of Mr Ho’s books, “The Path I Pursue.”

He wrote, “A student of local masters Liu Kang and Chen Wen Hsi, Mr Ho left behind a remarkable legacy, not just of beautiful art pieces—which adorn galleries and private collections around the world—but also of his pioneering spirit, in pursuing an art form he felt passionately about, but for which society was not yet prepared to accept. 

Today, it would be shocking to hear that his unique style—which blends post-Impressionism (especially inspired by Van Gogh), abstract, expressionism, and Pollock-style drip painting) with more traditional Eastern influences—would not be immediately recognized for its trailblazing nature. But it wasn’t, at least initially, and it was only in his later years when he became more (justifiably) celebrated, winning a Cultural Medallion in 2012.”

Assoc Prof Lim underlined the value that the arts and the humanities bring to society, writing that it is the “gifts that stem from sporting achievements, artistic creations, musical compositions, and the accomplishments of the written word” that  “make a modern society truly attractive to live in.”

He wrote of his gratefulness toward the persistence and efforts of pioneering artists such as Mr Ho, who may have been under-appreciated by their own peers, but nevertheless leave a lasting legacy. 

“You may see some of his artwork on his Facebook page, here: https://www.facebook.com/sg.hohoying,” he added.

/TISG

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