Mother: SY CHING CHIN Translates Memory, Loss, and Love into Painting
- WODACC
- May 2
- 2 min read
At the Future Art & Design Award UK 2026 Spring Season, SY CHING CHIN was awarded the Platinum Prize in Acrylic Painting for Mother, a deeply personal work rooted in memory, loss, and reflection.
Unlike works driven purely by formal exploration, Mother emerges from lived experience. The painting serves as both a tribute and a quiet reconciliation—transforming personal grief into a universal expression of love, regret, and remembrance. Through a restrained yet emotionally charged approach, the work invites viewers into an intimate space where time, memory, and absence converge.
"Even when she was ill and bedridden, she always care about whether her child having a good day everyday. I am not a good child; now is too late to cherish her after she passed away. As an artist, only I can do is by this painting to memorialize my mother from heaven."
Interview
Q: What initially inspired this project? Was there a particular idea, moment, or question that sparked its creation?
SY:
If I have to say something about this painting, it goes back about 10 years. At the beginning of 2016, my mother was seriously ill and bedridden; even so, she always worried about whether her family had enough to eat and wear! Honestly, I am not a good child; today I realized that I didn't cherish the time with her until I lost her. As an artist, all I can do is create this painting to memorialise my mother in heaven.
Q: What was the most exciting or most challenging aspect of bringing this work to life?
SY:
The challenge in this work is “Time”. I completed the pencil sketch of it in 2021 easily and quickly, but I have no time to start the color version because of my daily work. Now, I have to learn how to make “Time” day by day to enjoy my creativity to be completed piece by piece.
Q: How was your experience taking part in the Future Art & Design Award UK?
SY:
And my little secret is that Portraits aren't my specialty; however, I specialise in Graphic Design (35 years of working experience), I have a Diploma in Management Studies (Major - Marketing), Master of Engineering Management from UTS, and a Master of Science in Multimedia and Entertainment Technology from PolyU HK. But I like painting, not Graphic Design (just for living).
Editor’s Note
In Mother, SY CHING CHIN reminds us that some works are not created for exhibition—but for remembrance.
What begins as a personal act of tribute unfolds into something quietly universal: a reflection on time, absence, and the emotions we often understand too late. In its simplicity, the work carries a weight that extends beyond technique—anchored instead in sincerity, memory, and the enduring presence of love.
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