Object size: 61.0 x 83.0 x 2.0 cm
Ho Kah Leong (b. 21 September 1937, Singapore–) has been active in Singapore’s art scene for the past six decades and is the honorary advisor of the Singapore Art Society. He trained at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) in the mid-1950s, and later obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the Nanyang University in 1963. Upon graduating, Ho taught at Nan Chiau High School and Chung Hwa Girls’ High School before entering politics in 1966. He served as a Member of Parliament for 30 years and, after retiring from politics, became the principal of NAFA from 1997 to 2003. From the 1950s to the 1980s, Ho actively produced woodcut prints. He often submitted them to several local newspapers and magazines for a token sum. Notably, Ho co-edited the 1955 Xinma Muman Xuanji (Selection of Woodcuts and Cartoons by Singapore and Malayan Artists) with cartoonist Ong Shih Cheng, a significant publication showcasing woodcuts and cartoons of the 1950s. His interest in depicting social realities at the time extends into the 1970s. In ‘Happy Family’, Ho depicts a harmonious scene, showing a family with two children enjoying a picnic at the Padang. The work was Ho’s reflection on population control measures at the time, specifically the two-child policy introduced by the Singapore government in the 1970s to encourage families to plan for no more than two children, in order to help raise living standards.
