Artist Statement - Damien Shen

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.

They are referenced from colonial artist George French Angas' publication ’South Australia Illustrated’ from 1847. 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.