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Hong Kong culture
Culture

Hong Kong artist Meilo So illustrates a special book – written by her mum

Ho Sok-chun’s story – daughter of war widow who fled China and worked as hawker, who has a family and as housewife invests in stocks – speaks to many Hongkongers, and touched the heart of her daughter, who’s exhibiting art from the memoir

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Meilo So with some of her illustrations. Photos: Edmond So
Enoch Yiu
Meilo So may have drawn illustrations for books published by celebrities such as Hong Kong food critic Chua Lam and Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore, but the 52-year-old artist’s latest collaborator is the most special yet – with her mother.

Chun’s Life in Hong Kong is Like a Delicious Meal, published by Crown Publication this month, is a 369-page memoir by Ho Sok-chun, 74, who came to Hong Kong from China with her mother as refugees when she was one.

Works from So’s exhibition in Sai Ying Pun.
Works from So’s exhibition in Sai Ying Pun.
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With 120 illustrations by So, it charts Ho’s life from the impoverished post-war era through the turbulent 1960s to the booming ’70s and ’80s. As well as being a veteran stock investor, Ho is also a mother of four, with eight grandchildren. To have So contributing to the book makes her feel proud, she says.

“I’ve always supported my daughter to achieve her own dream. Being an illustrator or an artist may not bring in much money but that is what she dreamt to be,” says the first-time author.

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“I’d always support Meilo to do whatever makes her happy.”

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