Philadelphia (2020) captures the juxtaposition of isolation and collective action, depicting a surreal and disorienting reality. In the foreground, the burning and overturned car becomes a powerful symbol of chaos, unrest, and anxiety. The imagery reflects a world turned upside-down, where normalcy is disrupted, and the boundaries between stability and upheaval blur. The work also delves into the intertwining of news and reality, highlighting the fluidity between physical and digital spaces. The themes of what is seen, recorded, and shared compel the viewer to question their perception of truth and authenticity in a hypermediated era.

Through Philadelphia (2020) , Tan Mu expands on the complexities of contemporary existence, using the visual language of destruction and distortion to comment on societal and technological transformations. This piece, like its counterpart of Minneapolis (2020) , serves as both a reflection and critique of the shifting landscapes of human experience in crisis.

Q: What led you to choose this imagery?

Tan Mu: I have been drawn to watching the news since I was young, and that habit has shaped how I observe and process the world. The image of the overturned, burning car came from a photograph I encountered in a news report. It struck me as a condensed image of chaos and unrest, capturing the instability of that moment with striking clarity. This was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were confined to their homes under lockdowns and social distancing measures. At the same time, protests were unfolding in the streets, fueled by the pandemic, systemic inequality, and accumulated social tension. I had moved my painting practice from my studio in New York back to my home, experiencing isolation while witnessing collective upheaval through screens. Some people took to the streets, setting cars on fire and using torches as expressions of anger and resistance. The contrast between enforced isolation and mass protest revealed a deep sense of unease and disorientation within society during this period.

By transforming these moments into painting, I wanted not only to reflect on the events themselves but also to examine how such images circulate, are consumed, and are interpreted within the highly mediated environment we live in.

Q: How do you translate the fluid relationship between physical and digital spaces into your visual language?

Tan Mu: I am deeply interested in the way physical events move through digital systems and how that transition reshapes our perception of reality. News imagery captures events instantly, often in fragments, while painting allows time for reflection and reconstruction. My process often follows the path of an event, beginning with its physical occurrence, moving through its digital dissemination, and finally returning to a material form through painting.

In works such as Philadelphia (2020) and Minneapolis (2020), I explore this movement through specific visual strategies. Blurred cityscapes and horizontal brushstrokes suggest motion, instability, and the multiple layers of mediation an image undergoes. In Minneapolis, the composition centers on a figure leaning out of a car window, holding a phone toward the burning scene. The phone becomes a key element, linking direct experience with the act of digital recording and sharing.

In Philadelphia, a predominantly black-and-white palette heightens tension, while bursts of red, orange, and yellow flames cut sharply through the monochrome surface. These colors signal destruction but also emphasize the immediacy of the captured moment. In Minneapolis, this contrast is intensified, with a glowing, blurred background set against a sharply defined silhouette in the foreground. Through these choices, I question how digital images reshape our understanding of events and blur the boundaries between witnessing and mediation.

Q: Themes of truth and authenticity in a hypermediated era are central to this work. How do you see art responding to or challenging media-driven narratives?

Tan Mu: In a hypermediated world, where images circulate rapidly and narratives are often shaped or distorted by media systems, art has the ability to slow down perception. Unlike digital images that are consumed and forgotten almost instantly, painting creates space for sustained attention and reflection. Through my work, I aim to interrupt passive viewing and encourage viewers to question how images are constructed, what is emphasized, and what is left out.

Painting is a deliberate and time-intensive process, standing in contrast to the speed of news cycles. By focusing on specific moments or details, such as a single figure filming an event or the interaction of light and color within a chaotic scene, I try to bring attention back to human presence and emotional experience, which are often lost in the flow of information. The tension between what is visible and what remains unseen is central to my practice. Rather than offering definitive answers, art opens a space for questioning, allowing viewers to engage critically with the images they encounter and reconsider the authenticity of the media narratives that surround them.