Yoga Isolation (2022) interprets a photograph taken in June 2020, during an outdoor yoga session in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic. Extracting color from the original image, Tan Mu employs monochrome shades to paint the scene, evoking an otherworldly atmosphere reminiscent of vintage science fiction posters. The painting reflects a world continuously shaped by the pandemic, with social situations evolving to fit new circumstances. It portrays the gradual transformation of daily life as people adapt to maintaining physical distance while striving to return to familiar routines. Through this depiction, Tan Mu explores the resilience and adaptation of individuals navigating a profoundly altered reality. The work also prompts a dialogue about the idealized, illusory lifestyle often associated with contemporary Western civilization, offering a nuanced reflection on how collective challenges redefine human connection and routine.

Q: How did your personal experience during the COVID-19 pandemic influence the creation of Yoga Isolation?

Tan Mu: During the pandemic, like many others, I experienced an overwhelming sense of isolation and disconnection from the rhythms of everyday life. That period was filled with moments of adapting to a new reality while reflecting on the fragility of human connections. For Yoga Isolation, I was struck by the tension between the individuals in the photograph, physically distanced yet collectively present. It mirrored what I felt—a simultaneous longing for community and the need to maintain separation. Painting this scene allowed me to process my own emotions during that time, translating them into a visual narrative. By reducing the color palette, I aimed to emphasize the surreal and otherworldly quality of this shared yet fragmented experience, where familiar routines—like yoga—became symbols of resilience and adaptation in an altered world.

Q: Yoga is often associated with unity and inner peace. How does incorporating it into a pandemic context reshape its symbolic significance in the painting?

Tan Mu: Yoga is often associated with unity and inner peace, ideals that resonate differently when set against the backdrop of a global pandemic. In Yoga Isolation, I wanted to explore how these symbolic qualities are reshaped under the weight of unprecedented circumstances.The painting draws from a photograph taken on June 21, 2020, during an outdoor yoga session in Toronto. Here, the practice of yoga—typically a communal and unifying experience—takes on new meaning as individuals are physically distanced, each within their own personal "bubble" of space. These bubbles, though isolating, create a collective memory of shared resilience as people adapt to a new normal while striving to maintain routines of wellness and connection. The work captures the paradox of togetherness in isolation, reflecting how societal conditions redefine even the most universal practices. Through this lens, yoga becomes a metaphor for navigating an altered world—seeking balance and peace amid disconnection.

Q: Why did you choose monochrome shades to reinterpret the original photograph? How does this decision enhance the otherworldly atmosphere you aimed to evoke?

Tan Mu: The pandemic had a profound impact on my creative process, pushing me to rethink how I perceive and represent human connection. During this time, I became more attuned to the subtle dynamics of physical distance and communal presence. This shift deeply influenced the way I approach composition, atmosphere, and subject matter in my works. For instance, in Yoga Isolation, I deliberately used a monochrome palette to strip away the distractions of color, drawing focus to the essence of the scene and its subjects. While the painting captures a moment during the pandemic, the black-and-white tones evoke the feeling of vintage posters and historical archives, offering a sense of both immediacy and timelessness. This choice allows viewers to engage more deeply with the narrative of adaptation and resilience.

Q: By extracting color from the original image, you evoke a specific atmosphere. How do you see color—or the lack thereof—playing a role in conveying emotion or meaning in your broader body of work?

Tan Mu: Some of my works, I have extensively explored monochrome painting, using black-and-white imagery to extract color and create an otherworldly effect. This deliberate choice serves multiple purposes across various themes. In works inspired by space and technology, such as Peek (2021), which depicts humanity’s first view of Earth from space via the V-2 rocket, or DEC’s PDP-10 (2021) and Blue Box (2021), which highlights milestones in computer history, black and white objectively reflect the technical or historical origins of the imagery. Similarly, in pieces like Bikini Atoll (2020) and Trinity Testing (2020), which draw from historical documentation of nuclear experiments, monochrome emphasizes the starkness of these moments in history. Beyond objective representation, I also use monochrome to focus attention on the subject and concept of a work. For example, in Torus (2020, 2021), Yoga Isolation (2021), and Isolation (2020), the absence of color directs viewers to themes of emotional disconnection and physical isolation, particularly during the pandemic. The extracted tones create an otherworldly atmosphere reminiscent of vintage science fiction posters, amplifying the emotional resonance of these works. Additionally, in abstract pieces like No Signal (2019) and Off (2019), black and white are used to depict the static disruption of a lost signal, visually exploring themes of technological and metaphorical disconnection. By removing the distraction of color, monochrome enhances focus and creates a timeless quality in my paintings, whether exploring historical, technological, or emotional narratives. This consistent approach reflects my broader interest in how simplicity in visual language can deepen the complexity of meaning and provoke reflection.