Mother Tongue
Furen Dai
Federal Census (Nativity and Mother Tongue) and Federal Census (Health)
The United States census, mandated in Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, is the process of collecting, compiling, analyzing, evaluating, publishing, and disseminating statistical data on the population that takes place every 10 years. Furen Dai’s series Federal Census is based on her research on U.S. census reports from 1790-2010. In the work, which questions census methodology, she has identified, compared, and presented eight categories: health, nativity and mother tongue, race, personal information, citizenship, education, occupation, and others. By comparing how the language of the form changes every ten years, the work presents an overview--or narrative--of the national operating system, uncovering cultural bias within the governmental apparatus and showing how power is yielded under the guise of data collection.
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Furen Dai, Federal Census (Nativity and Mother Tongue), 2019, 16 Gauge Vinyl, 82” x 48” and Federal Census (Health), 16 Gauge Vinyl, fluorescent orange vinyl coated mesh, 64”x 48”, Image Credit: Eli Klein Gallery
Furen Dai, Federal Census (Nativity and Mother Tongue), 2019, 16 Gauge Vinyl, 82” x 48” and Federal Census (Health), 16 Gauge Vinyl, fluorescent orange vinyl coated mesh, 64”x 48”, 3D Rendering
Furen Dai, Federal Census (Nativity and Mother Tongue), 2019, 16 Gauge Vinyl, 82” x 48” and Federal Census (Health), 16 Gauge Vinyl, fluorescent orange vinyl coated mesh, 64”x 48”, Image Credit: Xu Tianchu
Furen Dai, Federal Census (Nativity and Mother Tongue), 2019, 16 Gauge Vinyl, 82” x 48” and Federal Census (Health), 16 Gauge Vinyl, fluorescent orange vinyl coated mesh, 64”x 48”, Image Credit: Eli Klein Gallery