My Cuzzy Nate and the 654 Club

Damien Shen

20 June - 16 August 2026
Margaret Scott Gallery

Damien Shen’s new, multifaceted installation draws together moving image performance work and analogue photography to tell a story of Aboriginal joy and optimism.

Stemming from Shen’s long-held fascination with stage magic and hard-won skills in sleight of hand, this work adapts the narrative-based, multi-part card trick Sam the Bellhop into a warm and personal story. The moving image work is complemented by a sequence of 52 intricately hand-etched tintype photographs. Shen has also produced a limited-edition custom deck of playing cards, decorated with his iconic designs.

Damien Shen is a South Australian man of Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna, and Chinese descent. As an artist, he draws on these powerful cultural influences to create works of intense personal meaning. The moving image work is also warm and funny, arising from Shen’s aim to instill his recent work with a sense of joy and wonder.

Curated by Andrew Purvis, the exhibition is presented in partnership with Adelaide Central Gallery and Adelaide Central School of Art.