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Chun Hua Catherine Dong
Born in China
Lives and work in Montreal, QC, Canada
Skin Deep
2019
BIO
Chun Hua Catherine Dong (she/they) is an artist living in Montreal. Dong holds an MFA from Concordia University and a BFA from Emily Carr University Art & Design. Their work has been exhibited at the Quebec City Biennial, the Phi Foundation MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image, MAC VAL in France, The Rooms Museum, and elsewhere. Dong was the 2014 recipient of the Franklin Furnace Award in New York, a 2020 finalist for the Contemporary Art Award at Le Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, and a 2021 recipient of the Cultural Diversity in Visual Arts Prize by the Conseil des arts de Montréal.
Artist's social medias
5 photographies with augmented reality, 84 x 104 cm each
Chinese shame is rooted in the concept of face. Shame is used as a tool of social control, a way to prevent citizens –especially women– from acting in ways that could disrupt the status quo. Here, “shame” is translated into a cultural symbol through a series of photographs where Dong’s face is concealed behind Chinese silk fabrics. Skin Deep draws back the curtain and points to the deeply embedded feelings of shame that can cause women to hold back and stay silent, transforming performative gestures into potentially universal and relatable experiences.
