Furen Dai’s practice has focused on the economy of cultural industry and how languages lose function, usage, and history over time. Her years as a professional translator and interest in linguistic studies have guided her artistic practice since 2015. For her artwork based on the Year of the Mouse, Dai researched the evolutionary process of the Chinese character “鼠” (mouse), from the ancient Oracle bone script to the contemporary SimSun font. 

When foreign language characters are placed in a different cultural context, those without knowledge of the language tend to read the character as a series of abstract lines and shapes. This artwork explores the experience of viewing a Chinese character from both a native and foreign perspective, encouraging both Chinese speakers and non-Chinese speakers to see “mouse” when viewing “鼠”.  In this work, the small mouse of the ancient Oracle bone script races around the contemporary SimSun font, which is in turn transformed into a cartoon mouse figure blinking and beckoning us in with its warm, neon glow.

當外語的字符被放置在不同的文化背景中時，不懂外語的人會傾向於把字符看作抽象的綫條與圖形。戴馥任這次的作品意圖用兩種眼光審視一個漢字，讓懂中文與不懂中文的人在看“鼠”字時都能聯想到老鼠的畫面。在這次的作品中，小小的甲骨文的“鼠”字圍繞著宋體的“鼠”，組成一只卡通小老鼠的模樣，在溫暖的霓虹燈中一閃一閃地向我們打著招呼。

戴馥任的藝術創作聚焦文化產業經濟以及語言功能、用途與歷史背景的消逝。自2015年起，她的專業翻譯背景和對語言學的興趣就驅使著她進行藝術創作。為創作她的鼠年作品，戴馥任研究了漢字“鼠”從甲骨文到現代宋體的演變過程。

Furen Dai’s hybrid art practice utilizes video, sound, sculpture, painting and collaboration. Dai received a Bachelor in Russian Language Studies from Beijing Foreign Studies University; she also holds an MFA degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. Dai has received an Excellence Award from the 21st Japan Media Art Festival, The Art Newspaper commission for Frieze Art Fair New York 2019, the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation Fellowship, Art OMI residency, International Studio and Curatorial Program Residency.

戴馥任在藝術創作中經常運用影像，聲音，雕塑，繪畫與多種媒介合作。她畢業於北京外國語大學俄語語言文學院並獲得學士學位，她隨後攻讀了塔夫斯大學藝術碩士學位。戴馥任在第21屆日本媒體藝術節獲得了的優秀獎，2019紐約Frieze藝術展中獲得藝術報紙佣金，還獲得了Milton and Sally Avery藝術基金獎學金。