Lim Tze Peng's calligraphic scenes from Singapore on show in Mumbai

The country's oldest living artist, 99-year-old Lim Tze Peng, holds his first solo show, The Spirit of Ink, in India

The bad news is that the artistic temperament with its gnawing self-doubt and restlessness can persist even at 99 years old. The good news is that age can make the artist court validation less and less. It is what has allowed Singaporean painter Lim Tze Peng develop a somewhat controversial style of calligraphy in his twilight years. Where the traditional form is judged for its precision and beauty, Lim’s hu tu zhi or “muddled” characters are illegible. The intervention gives an inspired painterly quality to the words.

Even today, the nearly-100 Lim is busily creating and searching for another “breakthrough”.