The Golden Veil

Each evening after school in Ottawa, Dominique Fung and her family would have dinner before gathering around the television to watch an episode of a Chinese period drama. Then she’d slip away to do homework. But those nightly series left an imprint, particularly one recurring figure who would later fascinate her as an adult: Empress Dowager Cixi, the formidable woman who ruled China behind a silk screen for more than three decades from 1875 to 1908.

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“She lived such an impressive, almost fantastical life, with highs and lows and all this drama,” Fung recalls. “I wondered if there's something I could distill into my practice—into my paintings.”The empress’ story is both iconic and complicated. She entered the Qing Dynasty court in the mid-1800s as a concubine. Unusual among her peers for her literacy, her intellect, paired with the fact that she gave birth to the emperor’s only surviving son, propelled her to power. When her son ascended the throne at just 5 years old, Cixi stepped in as regent, becoming the de facto ruler of China.

For her latest exhibition, “Beneath the Golden Canopy” at Massimo De Carlo Hong Kong, Fung didn’t set out to simply retell Cixi’s history. Instead she uses the empress’ legacy as a touchpoint to explore enduring questions of patriarchy, power, and the precarious tightrope women in leadership still walk today. “There are already so many stories about her,” she says. You can watch documentaries, read biographies. There’s no point in me trying to reiterate the exact story.” On view until May 16, the exhibition is Fung’s first solo show in Hong Kong, a milestone made more meaningful given her family ties to the city. “The last time I was there, my grandmother said, ‘If you paint me a vase with some flowers, I can give you some money and help out,’” Fung recalls, laughing. That was back in 2015, when she was just starting out as an artist. She had planned to return in 2020, but the pandemic put those plans on hold.

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The show includes large and small paintings that blend surrealism, history, and cultural symbolism. In one of the larger paintings, Cixi’s face is obscured by a shimmering, golden canopy, a reference to the veil she was required to sit behind while her son nominally ruled. Originally, Fung had painted her face. But something didn’t sit right. “I ended up wiping her face and placing it behind the canopy because I wanted it to feel more like you could put yourself in that position,” she says. That gesture, the erasure of identity in service of power, speaks volumes about the sacrifices women often make to be seen as legitimate authority figures. The artist draws a contemporary parallel in a surprising place: a Hillary Clinton documentary. “She wasn’t feminine enough, or she was too feminine,” Fung recalls. “She was wearing too much makeup. She had to wear a suit, but not too much of a suit. She can’t wear a dress—that’s too soft. Heels, but not too high. That negotiation of how to present yourself—Cixi had to do that too.”

Much of the exhibition takes place not just on walls, but on the floor. A collection of paintings encased in antique jewelry boxes sits atop an actual carpet once used in Cixi’s court, a rare artifact Fung won at auction. The canvases, custom-fit for each box, are painted with richly symbolic imagery: a lobster, a hand with long nails holding a fan, and intricate platform shoes like the ones Cixi wore. “She ruled an empire wearing these silly platforms,” Fung says. “I imagined her telling her warriors to go take over a whole region, and she’s standing there on these shoes.”

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Through layered visuals and historical echoes, “Beneath the Golden Canopy” doesn’t just revive a historical figure—it reframes her. Fung's work invites viewers to examine how women have navigated power, perception, and performance, both then and now. Empress Dowager Cixi may have ruled behind a curtain, but in Fung’s paintings, her legacy, and its resonance, is brought vividly into the light.

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“Beneath the Golden Canopy” is on view through May 16, 2025 at Massimo De Carlo Hong Kong at Central Tai Kwun, Barrack Block Second Floor, Shop 03-205 & 206 No, 10 Hollywood Rd.