Damien Shen
My cuzzy Nate and the 654 Club | 2025 | video and sound, duration 5:32
Sunshine Coast National Art Prize 2026 - Finalist
Image courtesy of artist.
Damien Shen
SA
Ngarrindjeri and Chinese
My cuzzy Nate and the 654 Club
2025
video and sound, duration 5:32
Esteemed artist Damien Shen’s new moving image work explores 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.
Stemming from Shen’s childhood fascination with stage magic and 12 months of practice and development, this work provides important cultural diversity to the predominately white history of stage magic. Shen has deliberately sought to instil his recent work with a sense of joy and wonder, frequently returning to imagery and experiences of childhood.