Vaccine (2021) explores the profound significance of the COVID-19 vaccine, symbolizing both hope and scientific achievement in the face of a global pandemic. The painting focuses on the essence of the vaccine vial, capturing the delicate contours of the glass and the gleam of its contents. Through this portrayal, the artist invites viewers to contemplate the transformative impact of medical innovation on society, emphasizing the intersection of science, health, and collective resilience. Vaccine stands as a visual testament to the power of human endeavor and collaboration in overcoming global challenges, prompting reflection on the role of vaccines in shaping our future.

Q: What was the inspiration behind Vaccine (2021)?

Tan Mu: My inspiration emerged from observing the duality of the pandemic era—the isolation and societal shifts it imposed, alongside the extraordinary scientific mobilization it ignited. While earlier works in my practice explored themes of genetics and human DNA, Vaccine focuses on the tangible symbol of hope that emerged: the rapid development of medical breakthroughs like the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. I was struck by how this small vial encapsulated both cutting-edge science and collective human resolve. The mRNA technology fascinated me—how a fragment of genetic material could instruct our bodies to build defenses against an invisible threat. It felt like a bridge between my past explorations of genetic codes and the urgent realities of 2021. The vaccine became more than a medical tool; it embodied humanity’s ability to collaborate across borders and disciplines in crisis. By isolating the vial as the painting’s focal point, I wanted to honor its quiet yet revolutionary role in reshaping our relationship with the pandemic—not just as a bio-scientific improvement, but as a shared emblem of resilience.

Q: Why did you choose to depict the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine vial specifically, rather than abstract symbols of science or medicine?

Tan Mu: My choice to depict the BioNTech vaccine vial stems from its role as a cultural and scientific icon of our time—a tangible artifact that crystallized the collision of human crisis and ingenuity. Though the painting does not explicitly show corporate branding or literal details, the vial’s form is distilled to evoke its universally recognizable silhouette, bridging the specific and the symbolic. This approach aligns with my philosophy of gewu zhizhi (格物致知)—investigating phenomena to uncover deeper truths. By grounding the work in a concrete object, I anchor the viewer’s contemplation in shared reality, while allowing abstraction to amplify its conceptual resonance. The vial’s ambiguity is intentional. It is not a mere representation of a pharmaceutical product but a vessel for collective memory. During the pandemic, this vial flooded media imagery, scientific archives, and public consciousness, becoming a visual shorthand for both vulnerability and hope. I wanted to capture its spiritual potency—how a single object could embody humanity’s race against a virus, the marvel of mRNA technology, and the global collaboration it demanded. Abstraction alone might risk dissolving these layered narratives into pure metaphor, whereas the semi-abstract rendering of the vial invites viewers to oscillate between recognition and interpretation.

Q: How do you understand the interplay between representation and abstraction in your work?

Tan Mu: My practice has always thrived on this tension between the representation and abstraction. Like extracting DNA from a cell, I isolate fragments of observed reality—newspaper clippings, industrial forms, scientific diagrams—and recontextualize them to reveal hidden patterns. Here, the vial acts as both a scientific relic and a cultural prism. It‘s contents glow with the quiet force of bio-scientific triumph. In this way, the interplay becomes a method of thinking through form. Abstraction does not negate representation; it interrogates it. The vaccine vial, as a represented object, grounds the work in historical urgency, while its abstract treatment opens a dialogue about how we archive crisis—not merely through data, but through the emotional and ideological imprints we project onto material things. This approach aligns with my belief that art should not merely document reality but interrogate its layers, inviting viewers to navigate between the microscopic (a vial’s genetic payload) and the macroscopic (a pandemic’s societal upheaval).