At 62, the creator of Mr Kiasu is going to art school for the first time

At 62, Johnny Lau, the creator of Singapore comic character Mr Kiasu, has returned to full-time study to pursue a Master of Fine Arts. The move marks a new chapter nearly four decades after his character became a familiar figure in Singapore, satirising the fear of missing out and the pursuit of success.

Lau received a National Arts Council scholarship for the two-year course at the University of Arts Singapore, which he began in August. He taught himself to draw as a child and wanted to make comics, but studied architecture at his parents’ urging; he later worked as an architect before building his career as a cartoonist.