My Cuzzy Nate and the 654 Club

Esteemed artist Damien Shen’s new, multifaceted installation draws together moving image performance work and analogue photography to explore storytelling, magic, and Aboriginal excellence and optimism.

The narrative-based, multi-part card trick, Sam the Bellhop, was created in Chicago in the 1930s and made famous by the legendary magician Bill Malone. In this moving image work, the trick is adapted and performed by the artist, in the guise of a professional magician, for an audience of Aboriginal spectators. The intricate, expertly timed script of the trick is updated to become a story of Aboriginal joy and celebration, using culturally authentic slang and prompting genuine, unrehearsed reactions. The film is shot and directed by award winning Director/Cinematographer, Johanis Lyons-Reid.

Stemming from Shen’s childhood fascination with stage magic and hard-won skills in sleight of hand, this work provides important cultural diversity to the predominately white history of stage magic. The story deck format also showcases the culturally significant tradition of Aboriginal storytelling and highlights the talent of the performers.

This body of work has emerged as a response to the darkness Shen endured in recent years, both having his art practice impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and witnessing the divisive debate surrounding the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. As a salve to these experiences, Shen has deliberately sought to instil his recent work with a sense of joy and wonder, frequently returning to imagery and experiences of childhood.

Accompanying the exhibition of the film is a sequence of 52 analogue tintype photographs, created and hand-etched by Shen. The regal face cards feature historic images of Aboriginal men and women, adorned with Shen’s Ngarrindjeri motifs. The etched lines on the faces echo the contours of human anatomy, recalling how Aboriginal people were once studied and catalogued as specimens rather than recognised as individuals. At the same time, the etched clothing transforms the subjects into figures of regality, elevating them beyond the reductive lens of ethnography. The meticulous detail owes much to Shen’s drawing practice, years spent honing line, tone and anatomy. Similarly, the performance of close-up magic, requires supreme dexterity, control, and hours of practice.

Additionally, Shen has designed a custom set of playing cards, released as a limited, collector’s edition. Each card carries the artist’s distinctive patterning and motifs, extending the imagery of the tintype series into an object of play, exchange, and collection. Professionally printed to the highest standard, the deck functions both as an artwork in its own right and as a tactile companion to the exhibition. Like the engraved plates, the cards embody Shen’s fusion of meticulous craft and cultural reference, transforming an everyday object into a vessel of memory, symbolism, and storytelling.

Andrew Purvis, Director, Adelaide Central Gallery

Please note that, as the tin type works are hand-etched, each edition will be unique and is sold unframed. Tin type sets are priced accordingly on request.

Play your hand with us, contact andy@marsgallery.com.au for enquiries.