Chun Hua Catherine Dong – Chun Hua Catherine Dong

Solo Exhibition – articule

I am very pleased to announce that I made a brand new body of works currently exhibiting at article in Montreal.

Solo Exhibition: I Wonder How I Wonder Why
Gallery: articule
Address: 6282 St-Hubert,Montréal, Québec, Canada H2S 2M2
Date: November 1 – December 14, 2024
Opening reception: November 1, 5-8pm

Dong transforms a scientific laboratory into an imaginative stage where the boundaries of gender, power, and social control are redefined. Through a blend of VR video, animation, light, 3D-printed sculptures, and ready-made objects, Dong combines elements of scientific presentation with childhood memories, creating an immersive, sensory-rich experience both experimental and personal.

Drawing on early encounters with Western culture while growing up in China, Dong uses the song “Lemon Tree”, by the German band Fool’s Garden, as a symbolic, aspirational fantasy of Western life: bright, carefree, and filled with promise. For Dong, this fantasy was shaped through cultural exports like music, media, and fashion, offering an idealized, unattainable version of the West. In this project, Dong bridges the gap between the imagined promises of Western life and the complex realities of growing up in the East, transforming bittersweet childhood memoirs into acts of resistance and empowerment.

Dong uses the laboratory as a metaphorical site where fantasies are deconstructed, reassembled, and transformed. The lab becomes a space of transformation – not simply for scientific experimentation, but for challenging cultural constructs, reimagining identity, and crossing geographic and ideological boundaries. “I Wonder How I Wonder Why” is a space where East and West, science and imagination, reality and fantasy intersect, inviting reflection on how personal and cultural narratives shape our understanding of ourselves and the world, and how these narratives can open new possibilities for self-expression.

Times Square Arts –Mulan

I am very pleased to announce that my VR work, Mulan, will be screening at Times Square, NYC, on 95 large billboard digital screens from 41 to 49 street, August 1 -31, 2024, presented by Times Square Arts and Galerie Charlot Paris

For more about “Mulan” at Times Square Art, please visit here

For more info about “Mulan”, please visit my website link here.

A video-based work created through virtual reality, Chun Hua Catherine Dong’s Mulan reimagines the legendary Chinese folk heroine of the same name to explore gender and the plasticity and plurality of the body. Inspired by ancient Chinese storytelling, performance traditions, and marine biology, Dong used 3D VR tools to create an imaginary aquatic fantasy world where Mulan disguises her identity and gender, in order to coexist and become one with the nudibranch — a colorful deep-sea organism with striking forms, unique defenses, and ambiguous gender identities. Ultimately Mulan becomes not only a hybrid being, but a part of the surrounding marine ecosystems. Donning the protagonist in a colorful Beijing Opera costume and staging her on the rainbow-hued nudibranch, Dong proposes the pluralities within this folk character, and challenges historically male-dominated theater traditions.

Mulan was created in collaboration with Kudo Albus, a digital artist in Shanghai.

“Through performative gestures and expressions, I re-interpret Mulan from a feminist perspective. This work also raises questions about the binary system, about how to merge the boundaries of self/other, culture/nature, and human/animal, creating a new social relation that supports different ways of living and diverse beings in order to sustain and survive.” — Chun Hua Catherine Dong

Chun Hua Catherine Dong (she/they) is a Chinese-born Tiohtià:ke/ Montréal-based multimedia artist. Dong’s artistic practice is based in performance art, photography, video, VR, AR, and 3D printing within the contemporary context of global feminism. Body is political. Dong began their artistic career as a performance artist. Working within the gap between body as image and body as experienced reality, Dong uses the body—often their own body— as a visual territory in their work and a primary material to activate social commentary on gender, identity, and immigration. By encapsulating these global issues in microcosm or magnifying personal predicaments until they become universally visible, Dong presents the body as an embodiment of dynamic human relations, locating themselves at the nexus of author, artwork and audience.

Dong received an MFA in Intermedia from Concordia University and a BFA at Visual Art from Emily Carr University Art & Design in Canada. Dong has exhibited their works at The International Digital Art Biennial Montreal (BIAN), The International Biennial of Digital Arts of the Île-de-France (Némo), MOMENTA | Biennale de l’image, Kaunas Biennial, The Musée d’Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne in France, Quebec City Biennial, Foundation PHI for Contemporary Art, Canadian Cultural Centre Paris, Museo de la Cancillería in Mexico City, The Rooms Museum, Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, DongGong Museum of Photograph in South Korea, He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen, Hubei Museum of Fine Art in Wuhan, The Aine Art Museum in Tornio, Bury Art Museum in Manchester, Art Museum at University of Toronto, Varley Art Gallery of Markham, Art Gallery of Hamilton, and more.

Valérie Hasson-Benillouche founded Galerie Charlot in 2010 with the aim to champion innovative practices in contemporary art. Attentive to artistic experimentation, Galerie Charlot develops a reflection on the relationship between art, technology and science.Through its pioneering attitude, Valérie Hasson-Benillouche has created a space dedicated to contemporary art where her expertise in the world of digital art brings together artists, collectors and scientists. The gallery’s calendar is punctuated by conferences and performances around digital art and its place in contemporary art. It exhibits emerging, mid-career and established artists.Partnerships with galleries, institutions and curators are key points to develop the gallery’s international influence, as well as participation in festivals, off-site exhibitions, round tables and fairs in Paris, Basel, Brussels and New York, among others.

Partner of the Nemo Festival, member of the Arcadi jury, and Laguna Price Venezia, Valérie has been part of the SIGGRAPH Paris Reflection Committee and participates in various conferences, including those held at Elektra-Montreal, ArtBrussel, and Ars Electronica-Linz. She develops specific projects with companies such as Hermes, Société Générale, Audemars Piguet, Oddo Bank, C21 Hotels, and Shiseido. She is also a member of the CPGA and is on the committee of the FHDN Foundation and the Digital Humanities Foundation.Valérie and her team are dedicated to the development of digital art as a major art form, an essential part of contemporary art.

Support for Midnight Moment is provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and the Times Square Advertising Coalition.

Midnight Moment is made possible by the Times Square Advertising Coalition, ABC SuperSign, American Eagle, Big Outdoor, Branded Cities, Clear Channel, Coca-Cola, Diversified, Express, Heritage Outdoor Media, Levi’s, LG, Line Friends, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Midtown Financial, Morgan Stanley, New Tradition, Outfront, Paramount, Prudential, Sensory Interactive, Sephora, Sherwood Equities, Show + Tell, Silvercast, Swatch, TSX, and T-Mobile.

Public Art – Place des arts

I am very pleased to announce that I have been selected to create public art project for 35 vidoe screens at Espace Culturel Georges-Emile-Lapalme at Place des Arts in Montreal in 2024. This work is supported by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec and place des arts.

Exhibiton date: 7:00am – 11:00pm, June 19 – October 19, 2024
Address: place des arts
175 Sainte-Catherine Street West
Montreal, Quebec H2X 3X5

for the announcement at the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec, please visit here.

for the announcement at place des arts, please visit here.

Exhibition – Ottawa Art Gallery

I am very pleased to announce that my performance photograph “Unmask Opera,” 3D printed sculpture,” Gold Girl,” and ” Phoenix Crown” are exhibiting at Ottawa Art Gallery. For more about this exhibition, please visit here

Through the Ground Glass¹is a dialogue between the work of historical Ottawa photographer William James Topley and six contemporary artists: Lori Blondeau, Chun Hua Catherine Dong, Anique Jordan, Neeko Paluzzi, Adrian Stimson and Geneviève Thauvette. These artists engage with image manipulation, hauntology, costumes and theatricality to subvert narratives and reclaim power through portraiture.

Topley’s use of the composite technique (akin to cut-and-paste collage) demonstrates photography’s ability to craft powerful narratives. Similarly, the contemporary artists in this exhibition harness the principle of this technique to resist, reconstruct and critique, in order to catalyze new realities.

International Digital Art Biennale Montreal

I am very pleased to announce that I will participate International Digital Art Biennale Montreal this year. I am presenting “Skin Deep”, a photographic series with augmented reality (AR).

Where: Arsenal Contemporary Art Montreal
Date: May 31 – July 21, 2024
Address: 2020 William St, Montreal, Quebec H3J 1R8
Opening: May 30, 2024, 7:00 -10:00pm

For more info about the Biennale, please visit here
For more info about “Skin Deep” at my website, please visit here

Presented by ELEKTRA since 2012, the International Digital Art Biennial is back for a 7th edition from May 31 to July 21, 2024 in collaboration with Arsenal contemporary art Montreal. The Biennale ELEKTRA is the largest exhibition dedicated to digital art in North America.

It is under the theme ILLUSION that it presents a reflection on our post-factual, post-truth and alternative reality era, a subject that is shaking up the news. Indeed, the proliferation of digital communication technologies and tools from artificial intelligence (AI) contribute to disinformation, notably deep fakes. We can already measure the serious consequences of this denial of reality on the lives of billions of people on our planet. This 7th Biennial is intended, once again, to reflect our societies, which are increasingly enveloped and infiltrated by digital technology.

Curated by Alain Thibault, more than thirty artists from three continents are brought together in a unique way. Under the theme ILLUSION, certain installations will reflect this idealized parallel life in the Metaverse while leading the public to question the very concept of reality and simulation. Thus, visitors are invited to question the existence of certain works, due to their ephemeral, immaterial or even invisible nature, and thus to refine their perception of reality or illusion in an increasingly enveloped and infiltrated society by digital.

Solo Exhibition – Galerie Charlot Paris

I am very pleased to announce that I am having a solo exhibition, The Flow, at Galerie Charlot in Paris from April 5 to May 25, 2024. I am showing my two recent projects, “ For You I Will Be An Island,” and ” Unmask Opera.” This exhibition includes performance photograph, photographs with AI component and augmented reality (AR), AI animation, and 3D printed sculptures.

Galery: Galerie Charlot
Date: April 5 – May 25, 2024
Address: 47 rue Charlot 75003 Paris – France
OPening: April 5, 2024, 6:00 -9:00pm

THE FLOW

Chun Hua Catherine Dong, originaire de Chine et établie au Canada, se distingue en tant qu’artiste pluridisciplinaire explorant des thématiques profondes telles que l’identité, la migration, le genre et le corps. Son travail s’exprime à travers une palette variée de médias, allant de la performance à la vidéo, en passant par la photographie et l’installation, pour susciter la réflexion et remettre en question les normes sociales et culturelles.

Elle joue avec les attentes de genre et navigue entre différentes identités, défiant ainsi les frontières physiques et psychologiques. Ses œuvres captent des instants intimes et troublants, révélant souvent des aspects négligés ou tabous de l’expérience humaine. À travers une mise en scène soigneusement élaborée et une manipulation habile de l’image, elle tisse des récits visuels captivants, invitant le spectateur à remettre en question ses propres perceptions sur des sujets tels que l’identité culturelle, le pouvoir et la marginalisation.

Engagée socialement, Chun Hua Catherine Dong utilise son art comme un moyen de sensibiliser le public aux problèmes contemporains et d’encourager le dialogue et le changement. Son travail incite à la réflexion et à une remise en question constructive de notre société.

Two Person’s Exhibition – Musée de Charlevoix

Two Person’s Exhibition: September 23, 2022 – April 30, 2023
Gallery: Musée de Charlevoix
Address: 210 Chem. du Havre, La Malbaie, QC G5A

MISSION PHOTOGRAPHIQUE CHARLEVOIX

Charlevoix a été le cadre d’une mission photographique destinée à documenter le paysage québécois. Depuis le passage dans la région du photographe d’origine hongroise, Gabor Szilasi, en 1970, qu’en est-il des paysages de Charlevoix ?

Un demi-siècle plus tard, une photographe professionnelle de la relève, Chun Hua Catherine Dong, en résidence dans la région, livre sa vision contemporaine et critique du paysage. Cette artiste née en Chine met en scène son propre corps et l’utilise en tant que monument humain.

Le contraste est frappant. En cinquante ans, la photographie a évolué à une vitesse fulgurante. Obtenus au terme d’un patient travail en chambre noire, les tirages argentiques de Gabor Szilasi ramènent à la vie une technique traditionnelle en voie de disparition, à l’image des espaces qu’il documente, équipé de son appareil à chambre 4 X 5 et de son Leika.

Pour ses créations, Chun Hua Catherine Dong utilise le plein potentiel de la photographie numérique, explorant les technologies de la vidéo 360 degrés et de la modélisation virtuelle dans des performances immersives d’avant-garde.

ette exposition est un concentré de la vaste récolte d’images de ces deux artistes, inspirés par le caractère unique d’une région rurale et de ses paysages mythiques.

For more info about the work I show at the Musée de Charlevoix, please visit here. For more about Musée de Charlevoix, please visit here

Solo Exhibition – New York

Exhibition: March 11 – April 2, 2022
In-person vernissage: Friday, March 11, , 6:00-9:00 PM
Artist talk (online): March 31, 2022, 6:30 PM
Gallery: Arcade Project Curatorial
Address: 56 Bogart, Brookyn, NY 11206

Cleavage refers to mitosis, a fundamental process for life. During mitosis, a cell duplicates all of its contents, including its chromosomes, and splits to form two identical daughter cells. Dong’s work explores the immigrant journey of identity: a splitting of the self into parts. The immigrant separates from their country of birth, entering their adopted country as the “other”. The immigrant becomes a person of two lands, not fully fitting in with either. When the immigrant returns to the land of their birth, they are not at home – they are visitors, tourists. The “home” that they hold as a memory is idealized in their mind. It doesn’t exist in the physical realm.

Skin Deep (2014-2020) explores the relationship between the concepts of shame and face in Chinese culture. Shame, or losing face, functions as a form of social control that prevents individuals—particularly women—from acting in ways that might disrupt the status quo. The series explores the concept of losing face in a series of photographic self-portraits, combined with an AR component, in which they conceal their face in traditional Chinese brocade silk fabrics that also comprise the background, signifying the loss of individual identity and absorption into a cultural identity.

Mulan (2022), a VR installation, inspired by the aesthetics of Beijing opera, splits the titular legendary heroine into two dueling warriors – shifting from singular to plural and back again. Mulan’s intense palette and undersea setting are references to Nudibranchs, colorful hermaphroditic mollusks that cannot self-fertilize and, despite having all the necessary equipment, require another to complete the reproductive cycle.

When I Was Born, My Father Said I Was Just Another Mouth to Feed, performance video (2010) and 3-D printed sculptures (2021), suggest that this cleavage of identity isn’t always complete: a ghost of the parents and their actions remains imprinted on the child. The bear’s four ears suggest a part of the child that has not completely separated. The bear’s pose is reminiscent of the prostration of both prayer and corporal punishment — a superimposed gesture of both hope and shame.

This exhibition has been made possible thanks to generous support from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Group Exhibition – He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China

I am very pleased to announce my second museum exhibition in China is held at He Xiangning Art Museum in Shenzhen. My four channel VR video installation, “Meet Me Halfway” is exhbited there.

Group Exhibition: In Working: Women In Art Practice
Museum: He Xiangning Art Museum
Exhibition date: December 29, 2021 – March 27, 2022
Address: He Xiangning Art Museum Hall 4-8, Shenzhen

For more info about this exhibition, please visit He Xiangning Art Museum

For more info about “Meet Me Halfway, please visit my website page here

Exhibition Supervisor: CAI Xianliang
Chief Exhibition Adviser: WANG Huangsheng
Curators: LI Beike, LIU Xiyan
Co-Curators: YU Xiangzhi, CHEN Zhuoer
Coordinators: CHENG Bin, FAN Ning
Public Education & Promotion: LUO Siying
Publicity: FANG Hua
Exhibition Assistants: DING Ziying, LIN Yue
Exhibition Design: WANG Yaxing, BREEZE Design

Artists: CHANG Yuchen, Chun Hua Catherine DONG, Gayle Chong KWAN, Alison KUO, Hua JIN, Serena LEE, Beili LIU, Duoni LIU, Susan Pui San LOK, Jennifer Wen MA, Yeu-Lai MO, SHEN Cai, Naormi Meijia WANG, Alice WANG, Yiy ZHANG, Linda ZHANG

As one of the serial events of “Culture China”, “The Overseas Chinese Artists Invitational Exhibition” has been officially hosted by the He Xiangning Art Museum annually since 2020, and has become one of the major academic projects thereafter. He Xiangning is an outstanding female artist in modern Chinese history, and the museum named after her has always maintained a strong focus on overseas Chinese art as well as female art. “In Working: Women in Art Practice – The 4th Overseas Chinese Artists Invitational Exhibition” takes a close look at the overseas Chinese female artists and attempts to explore the diversity and possibilities in today’s social works.

The focus of this year’s exhibition is that, in a history of production going through agriculture, industry and intellect, being productive forces of labor, female artists across the ages have done contribution physically, emotionally and intellectually. By investigating their artistic creations, this exhibition takes the public on a journey to rethink the efforts of overseas Chinese women in the new era for social development, cultural exchange and intellectual innovation in the context of globalization.

The exhibition invites 16 female artists who have lived overseas for a long time or have long been traveling between China and the abroad, to present their art practice till now in a multidimensional way, ranging from video recording, artistic expression to spatial reconstruction. Some of the artists celebrate women in the times with delicate and sensitive emotions, some explore the meaning of housework with keywords such as repetition and superposition, and some imagine the future with a vision beyond gender. These works demonstrate the overseas Chinese women’s observation, reflection and feelings on individual, collective, world, history and society.

Residency – International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), Brooklyn

I am very pleased to announce that I am in residence at International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in Brooklyn, Oct 1 – Dec 30, 2021, supported by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Quebec. For more info about this residency, please visit here

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