In To Rebel is Justified, Chun Hua Catherine Dong ('11) revisits this dark period of Chinese history in a performative context. “To Rebel is Justified” is the slogan used by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. Chun Hua Catherine Dong puts herself on stage and personifies an imaginary Red Guard. Dressed in a military uniform, the anti-revolutionary of the 21st century explores human vulnerability in the context of ritual humiliation. Reversing meaning and symbols, Chun Hua’s “Red Guard” welcomes Mao Tse-tung to a pigsty rather than Tiananmen Square. Both tied to a classroom chair and kneeling in a bathroom, the performer plays with erotic submission.
The exhibition brings together a collection of 12 photographs captured in China in 2013 and a documentation of her recent performance The Yellow Umbrella—An Unfinished Conversation.
To Rebel is to Justified
February 14 to March 21, 2015
Opening: February 14, 2015 at 3pm
MAI (Montreal, arts inerculturels)