Furen Dai

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.

Commissioned by The Rose Kennedy Greenway.