A broader path

Mok always dreamed of being an artist, but the nearest he got in Hong Kong was working for a design company.

In 1995, when he graduated from high school, he applied to the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the only school in the city that offered a program in visual arts. However, he failed the Chinese-language exam, so he wasn't chosen.

Later, he was desperate to attend the prestigious academy in Beijing, but at the time it wasn't taking students from Hong Kong.

Even after Hong Kong returned to the motherland in 1997, there were no openings for the city's students at the academy.

The restrictions were lifted in 2001, when new policies opened the doors to young artists from Hong Kong and Macao.

Mok finally had his chance, but he had to demonstrate that he had talent.

He was assessed in sketching, speed drawing and color blending - the prerequisites for admission - but he really wasn't ready for all that.

As far as he was concerned, he was a lowly office worker at a design company with no formal art education, and he would be competing for a place alongside students from across China, many of whom had been honing their skills all their lives.

He failed to gain a place, so he signed up for remedial classes. "I was the only student from Hong Kong, and also the most senior," he recalled, adding that the other students, who were all much younger, called him "uncle."

It was three years before Mok mastered the requisite skills. Having finally been accepted by the academy, he swept through his bachelor's degree and went on to study for a master's.