The Glitch series explores humanity's deepening dependence on technology through abstract, distorted imagery that reflects the omnipresence of data in contemporary life and the potential for catastrophic failure caused by unforeseen digital errors. Tan Mu visualizes signal disruptions and digital malfunctions, drawing inspiration from signal control systems and encoding processes. These large-scale paintings employ bold colors, fragmented forms, and layered textures to evoke the instability and chaos of data-driven systems that underpin modern communication, transportation, infrastructure, and security. The visual language mirrors digital glitch aesthetics while serving as a metaphor for the invisible mechanisms governing our digital landscape.  By highlighting both the ubiquity of data and the potential for information system collapse, the series invites viewers to confront the vulnerabilities and consequences of our overreliance on technology within critical infrastructure networks.

Glitch

In our ever-deepening entanglement with technology, it is tempting to view the world through binary contrasts: feature vs. bug, progress vs. regulation. Seen through this lens, glitches appear as irritants at best, or as disruptive faults… obstacles in the seamless flow of progress.

But what if we open ourselves to understanding glitches as something more? What if a glitch is not just an error, but an opportunity… a rupture that reveals the hidden processes beneath the surface, maybe even a moment that invites us to pause and reflect on the singular ways technology metabolizes, distorts, and generates information.

In painting, a mistake can become an opening or invitation into the presence and humanness of the maker. Our mistakes often lead to new ideas and ways of understanding the world. Could techno-glitches offer a similar invitation to new ideas and expansion?

Tan Mu’s Glitch series delves into the increasingly complex relationship between humanity and technology. Through abstract, distorted compositions, the paintings highlight both the omnipresence of data in our lives, and the fragility of our interdependence with the systems we build together. In today’s world, where communication, mobility, infrastructure, and security are shaped by invisible algorithms, our interdependence with these technologies has become a structural reality. Technology needs us and we feed technology with our experience of the organic world.

In these paintings, bold colors and jagged transitions evoke a sense of rupture and disruption. Twisted forms and blurred segments recall corrupted data, frozen frames, or collapsing signals… visual metaphors for the fragility of digital systems. Beyond aesthetic dishevelement, the works reflect a deeper uncertainty: the opacity of technological systems and the limits of human comprehension in the face of machinic logic.

Rather than simply simulate breakdown, Glitch reframes malfunction as a space for reflection on failure, on complexity, and on our entanglement with the technology we co-create. In glitches, our intimate relationship with technology momentarily reveals itself…. and in that flicker, we may glimpse not only its vulnerabilities, but our own.

Co-authors Echo and Nick Koenigsknecht

Q: The Glitch series depicts the visual effects of signal disruptions and digital malfunctions. Could you share the background and inspiration behind this series?

Tan Mu: This series emerged from my ongoing exploration of signal disruptions and digital glitches, building upon themes I established in previous works such as No Channel and No Signal. These pieces examine how signal interference affects both visual perception and information transmission. The creative foundation stems from my experience in the Expanded Media Studio Art program at Alfred University, where I studied video production techniques. During that period, we would manipulate signal control devices to alter screen displays, generating abstract distortions—color shifts, visual noise, and inversion effects. These technical experiments became the visual vocabulary for my artistic practice. I began developing this series in late 2022, completing the first piece that year before creating a second work in early 2023. The series represents a continuation of my investigation into the aesthetic and conceptual possibilities that emerge when communication systems fail or become compromised.

Q: You mentioned the impact of signal disruptions on modern society. Could you elaborate on this concept?

Tan Mu: In our interconnected world, network failures can trigger cascading catastrophic consequences. Virtually all critical infrastructures—healthcare systems, transportation networks, financial markets—depend on real-time access to information. A system failure lasting mere minutes could precipitate air traffic control malfunctions, emergency response breakdowns, and a domino effect of serious disruptions. While conceptualizing The Glitch, I read several reports predicting large-scale internet failures. Shortly afterward, Europe experienced a major network outage that stranded travelers in airports and disrupted medical services.  This incident crystallized my understanding that digital network fragility transcends theoretical concern—it represents an imminent and tangible vulnerability woven into the fabric of contemporary existence.

Q: How do you translate the effects of signal disruptions into visual language?

Tan Mu: I reconstruct these digital phenomena through layered acrylic and oil techniques, employing masking methods to build successive color applications that replicate the fragmented distortions visible on malfunctioning displays. In certain areas, I use thick impasto textures to enhance the visual effect and reflect the complexity and volatility of digital information transmission. The compositions integrate abstract color fields, gradients, and varied textural surfaces to articulate the chaos of disrupted signals. The linear patterns generated through masking techniques also evoke barcode imagery. In contemporary society, barcodes have transcended their purely functional role to symbolize the invisible flow of information that defines our digital age. They have become an integral part of our environment, quietly carrying vast amounts of data while often going unnoticed. By weaving these elements into the visual framework, I seek to provoke contemplation of the intricate and precarious architecture of our information networks.

Q: How does this series relate to your broader artistic practice?

Tan Mu: This series maintains deep connections with my previous investigations, including No Channel, Off, and No Signal—works that examine disruptions in information flow and how these interruptions fundamentally shape our visual culture and contemporary experience. These moments of systemic breakdown, rather than constituting mere technical failures, have become integral to our collective visual consciousness. Furthermore, this series establishes a conceptual dialogue with my recent Signal works. While Signal investigates information transmission through the lens of physical infrastructure—particularly undersea cable networks—The Glitch redirects attention to the visual manifestations of signal failures as they appear on our screens. Collectively, these works constitute a comprehensive inquiry into digital network fragility and the inherent risks embedded within technological dependency. They offer critical reflection on human experience within our increasingly digitized reality, questioning the stability of the systems upon which modern life fundamentally depends.