Never Too Late To Paint - Happy Yau’s Amazing Hands

To paint at age 70.
To create at age 80.
Mama Chan is happy as she paints.

The debut solo exhibition of Chinese ink and watercolour artworks by Happy Yau (Mama Chan). 

 

Classroom exercises, leisure practices, joyful play – even if you don’t know Mama Chan, she is keen to share with you the ”happy spirit” of a granny in her eighties. 

Mama Chan (maiden name Yau Sack Kam) was born in Shantou, Guangdong.  She was a top student at school, a highly motivated and observant self-learner.  She has always loved flowers and embroidery, and as a young girl she would often drop in on her neighbours to see how the Ah Yi (an endearing term for mature ladies) did hand-embroidery.

At the age of 17 Mama Chan moved to Hong Kong and started to stand on her own two feet.  Her career included the sample-making and production of dolls’ clothes, wig-making, hand-beading and embroidery work on evening gowns, designing and producing ready-made garments, creating custom-made clothing delivered directly to people’s homes, and running a business of her own, with fashion retail shops.

When the trend for bell-bottoms swept the fashion world in the 1970s, Mama Chan designed new silhouettes and created many new styles for her admiring clients, and her skilful fingers and magical hands turned ordinary materials into amazing products.

Time passed, and at the age of 70 Mama Chan decided to retire from work to enjoy a worry-free life.  An opportunity arose for her to take her very first lesson in Chinese ink painting at a community centre.  She made exceptionally quick progress in her learning, and her paintings are bringing viewers lovely surprises. 

 

Now, her retirement hobby of painting entertains not only Mama Chan but also her whole family, and giving a small painting to a dear friend is a sheer delight for her.