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 always been drawn to watching the news since I was young; it’s a habit that has shaped how I perceive and process the world around me. The imagery of the burning and overturned car came from a photograph I encountered in a news report. It struck me as a powerful visual encapsulation of chaos and unrest, perfectly embodying the disorienting realities of that moment. This took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when people were confined to their homes due to social distancing measures and lockdown policies. I, too, moved my painting practice from my studio in New York to my home. Meanwhile, protests erupted in the streets, driven by the pandemic, systemic inequities, and broader frustrations. Some individuals took to the streets, throwing torches and setting cars ablaze. The juxtaposition of mass protests and enforced isolation created a stark and conflicting contrast, rooted in people’s unease and discontent in the face of a rapidly changing era.

By transforming these events into a painting, I sought not only to explore the incidents themselves and the societal dynamics of the pandemic era but also to delve into how such images are consumed, shared, and interpreted in the hypermediated world we inhabit.

Q: How do you approach translating the fluidity between physical and digital spaces into your visual language?

Tan Mu: In my work, I am particularly drawn to exploring the fluidity between physical and digital spaces and how these transitions shape our perception of events. While the immediacy of news captures events as they unfold in real-time, painting offers a reflective medium to record and reinterpret these moments. My process often involves translating an event’s journey: from its physical occurrence to its representation in digital media, and finally, back into the tangible realm of painting.

In works like Philadelphia (2020) and Minneapolis (2020), I emphasize this interplay through deliberate visual choices. Smoky, blurred cityscapes are rendered with sweeping horizontal brushstrokes, evoking the transience of the moment and the multiple layers of mediation it undergoes. In Minneapolis, for instance, the composition centers on a figure leaning out of a car window, holding a phone to capture the fiery scene. The phone becomes a focal point, bridging the physical act of witnessing with the digital act of sharing.

In Philadelphia, the stark black-and-white palette accentuates the tension, with bursts of red, orange, and yellow flames cutting through the monochrome. These flames symbolize destruction while also emphasizing the striking immediacy of the captured moment. In Minneapolis, this contrast is further heightened, as the blurred background glows with fiery hues while the foreground focuses sharply on the silhouetted figure. Through this visual language, I seek to raise questions about how digital representations reshape our understanding of reality.

Q: The themes of truth and authenticity in a hypermediated era are central to this work. How do you think art can contribute to or challenge perceptions shaped by media narratives?

Tan Mu: In a hypermediated era, where media narratives often dominate and distort our perception of events, art has the potential to slow down the act of seeing. Unlike the fleeting nature of digital images, art provides a space for contemplation, encouraging viewers to question the constructed nature of what they see. Through my work, I aim to disrupt the surface-level consumption of media by reinterpreting these narratives in a way that exposes their layers—what is omitted, what is amplified, and how emotions are manipulated. Painting, for instance, offers a slower, more deliberate process that contrasts with the immediacy of news cycles. By focusing on specific details—like a single figure capturing a moment on their phone or the interplay of colors in a chaotic scene—I draw attention to the human experiences behind these narratives, often lost in the flood of information.

The exploration of the relationship between the visible and the invisible lies at the core of my artistic practice. Art doesn’t necessarily aim to provide answers or absolute truths; rather, it opens up a dialogue, allowing viewers to engage critically with what they see and question the authenticity of the media they consume.