On July 1, 1946, the United States conducted its first nuclear test after World War II, marking the dawn of the Atomic Age. Bikini Atoll (2020) by Tan Mu captures this historic turning point through the iconic mushroom cloud. The test, carried out in the lagoon of Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, was the first of 67 detonations in the region and the second of over a thousand tests conducted by the U.S. in the following decades. However, the devastating effects of radiation were vastly underestimated, leading to widespread public protests against nuclear testing. What began as a strategic military initiative soon spiraled into an environmental catastrophe, later evolving into the development of nuclear energy as a supposed clean power source. Tan Mu highlights this pivotal transformation—one that continues to shape debates on nuclear control and usage today. To move beyond the immediate spectacle of destruction, the artist renders the mushroom cloud with the aesthetic sensibility of a landscape or still life, transforming an explosive event into a contemplative scene. In doing so, Bikini Atoll (2020) invites reflection on the complex legacy of nuclear technology—its past devastation, its ongoing impact, and its uncertain future.

Q: What was the context behind your painting of Bikini Atoll?

Tan Mu: When I began this work, the COVID-19 pandemic had just begun, and New York was under lockdown. I no longer had access to my studio and returned to painting at home. This shift in environment forced me to slow down and reflect more deeply on my practice. It created the space to think carefully about the relationship between history and the present, an approach that has continued to shape how I work today. My current studio is now located far from the city, surrounded by lakes and trees. Being removed from urban noise allows me to concentrate more fully on broader historical and philosophical themes.

Q: What is the inspiration and core theme behind this painting?

Tan Mu: I immersed myself in historical research and literature surrounding the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll. For me, these tests represent a condensed image of Cold War power dynamics while also serving as a catalyst for developments in technology, economics, and energy. When painting this work, I approached it as a way of revisiting a historical moment through archival photographs, focusing on a period that fundamentally altered how energy was understood and deployed. The mushroom cloud became the central symbol through which I addressed the contradictions of this transformation. Nuclear energy is often promoted as a form of clean energy, yet its destructive legacy continues to damage the environment. This tension between progress and destruction became the conceptual entry point for the painting.

Q: How do you approach the sense of scale in depicting the nuclear explosion?

Tan Mu: While studying historical photographs, I noticed that the mushroom cloud often resembles something deceptively small, like a snowball or cotton candy. Viewed this way, it begins to feel less like a landscape and more like a still life. I deliberately reduced the scale of the painting, compressing the visual impact of the event and treating the explosion as an object rather than a vast scene. This act of compression relates to a recurring question in my work about control. If such immense energy can be reduced and framed in this way, it raises the question of who has the authority to define, manage, and control it.

Q: Beyond scale, what other visual language did you use in this painting?

Tan Mu: I chose to work in black and white, partly because of the historical photographs that informed the image, but also because the absence of color allowed me to focus on light, shadow, and form. When painting the cloud, I was especially drawn to the expressive qualities of the material itself. The layering and blending of oil paint mirror the accumulation and reconstruction of historical memory. As viewers look at the painting, their minds instinctively translate the brushstrokes into associations with nuclear explosions, energy, and control. This chemical reaction between image and thought is what gives painting its unique power. The cloud appears to float, suggesting both the immense scale of the explosion and, through a microcosmic treatment, a visual paradox. Viewers are prompted to shift constantly between reading the image from a distant perspective and examining its surface up close, engaging in a continuous analytical movement. This ambiguity reflects the freedom of painting itself, which can transcend physical scale and use intimate details to speak to vast historical forces.