Adelaide Central Gallery | Now showing until Friday 31 October
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 Bill Malone’s 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.
In the Teaching Building, Student Exhibition Drawn is now showing until Friday 31 October
Opening hours: Monday – Friday 9am-5pm
Photos by Sam Roberts, 2025