About the artwork
Ting - This piece of Calligraphy by Lim Tze Peng is a poem by major Tang Dynasty Poet Meng Hao Ran. The poem depicts the time of Spring. The sounds of birds chirping at dawn contrasts with the sound of heavy rain and wind in the dead of the night. This creates a paradigm shift in the reader’s minds between reality and imagination. Lim Tze Peng’s contrasting light grey strokes on dark black ink cleverly accentuates the inconsistencies in the poem. The poem, 春晓, reads: 唐代诗人 ·孟浩然 。 春眠不觉晓 、处处闻啼鸟。夜来风雨声 、花落知多少. Translated, "春晓(chūnxiǎo)" refers to the morning in spring. In my deep slumber on one spring night, day has broken without being noticed. My ears are filled with the merry singing of birds everywhere when I am awakened. A vague memory reminds me of the wind and rain at the night before, and now I am wondering how many flowers have fallen down to the ground.
About the artist
Born in Singapore in 1921, Lim Tze Peng is one of Singapore’s most significant artists and a living legend. Renowned for his Chinese ink creations of post-independence Singapore, he also practices Chinese calligraphy. Alongside local and international exhibitions, his masterpieces are exhibited in prominent Singapore institutions and part of many prestigious collections. Lim has been bestowed several awards including the Special Prize at the Commonwealth Art Exhibition in England in 1977 and the prestigious Cultural Medallion in Singapore in 2003. In May 2012, he broke records with the sale of his works at a Christies auction in Hong Kong.