Furen Dai

STATEMENT

History lives through language. The power of language has always been placed in a vital position in Chinese culture.  Social class, political ideology and economic conditions are read through language and text. The complicated relationship between written language and people who are using it in China is like the relationship between water and boats. Water can carry a boat and it can also overturn it. Individuals in Chinese culture have had to be very sensitive to the subtle differences in words. The meaning of language depends on the context. Through controlling language and history the Chinese government has often tried to control the society. A form of Inquisition through controlling language happened throughout each dynasty, from Song Dynasty, to the notorious Literary Inquisition in Qin Dynasty and more recently during the Cultural Revolution. An extreme example was during the Cultural Revolution when the traditional Chinese written character was simplified.  In China today, the government applies its strong control through censorship of the public access of the Internet.

Coming from a background of linguistic study and work as interpreter for several years, my artistic practice centers around language and through it, reflecting on and interpreting culture. In my previous education and work as an interpreter I was often in a position between two cultures trying to examine where the two cultures overlap as well as where they differentiate. 

BIOGRAPHY

Furen Dai’s practice has focused largely on the economy of the cultural industry, and how languages lose function, usage, and history. Dai’s hybrid art practice utilizes video, sound, sculpture, painting and collaboration. Her years as a professional translator and interest in linguistic studies have guided her artistic practice since 2015. She has been researching and developing the nearly extinct language of NüShu. The language, derived from Chinese characters, was created and used exclusively by women.

Furen Dai has exhibited work at the 13th Athens Digital Arts Festival, Greece; 2016 International Video Art Festival Now&After, Moscow, Russia; and Edinburgh Artists’ Moving Image Festival, Scotland, amongst other.

Work Samples

For this show, Dai decided to do a series of drawings, as she was researching, she wants to focus on the transportation of scholar rock rather than the scholar rock itself. As she is thinking the value of the rocks changes when moving from a natural environment to someone's garden/home.

She is looking at the book of “The Suyuan Stone Catalogue”, and interested in thinking the way how ancient people move different shapes of stone from one point to another. 

So the series of drawings will be consist of different ways of moving the scholar rocks and thinking how we add values to the stone through transportation.

“How to Move Scholar Rock from A to B”, Drawing on Paper, 10”x15” each 2019 (one of five)

Website: http://furendai.squarespace.com/