Damien Shen
Artist's Statement
Damien Shen, an artist of Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna and Chinese descent from South Australia, creates art that deeply reflects his dual heritage and personal identity. Through his work, Shen challenges traditional views of Australian identity and Aboriginal art, using his talent to explore contemporary issues around race, history and politics. His multidisciplinary practice spans various mediums, including detailed drawing, painting, analogue photography and moving image, allowing him to construct and deconstruct the world around him. Grounded in family, cultural memory and archival research, Shen largely examines how Aboriginal people have been represented, classified and remembered, and the possibilities for reclaiming these images through contemporary acts of authorship, agency and care. He approaches the archive as living material rather than fixed historical evidence, bringing colonial images into conversation with portraiture and visual influences drawn from his Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna and Chinese heritage. Recent projects extend into film and performance, card magic and artist-designed objects, using humour, wonder and shared experience to hold difficult histories alongside Aboriginal excellence, optimism and joy.Biography
Damien Shen lives and works on Kaurna land, Adelaide, Australia. A multidisciplinary artist of Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna and Chinese descent, he works across drawing, painting, analogue photography and moving image. In 2026, he was a finalist in nine art prizes nationally, including the Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize, the Sunshine Coast National Art Prize and the Artbank Art Prize. He was the winner of the 2026 Gosford Art Prize at Gosford Regional Gallery. Earlier wins include the Innovation category of the Koori Mail Indigenous Art Award (2024), the Blake Prize emerging category (2016), the Prospect Portraiture Prize (2015) and the South Australian NAIDOC Artist of the Year Award (2014). Earlier finalist placements include the Wyndham Art Prize (2016, 2017, 2026), the Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize (2017, 2026) and the Bowness Art Prize (2017, 2020). He has exhibited in over 100 solo and group exhibitions, including presentations of his 2025 multifaceted installation work ‘My Cuzzy Nate and the 654 Club’ at Melbourne Art Fair and Sydney Contemporary (2026), ‘Our Story: Aboriginal/Chinese People in Australia’ at the National Museum of Australia and Xiamen Art Museum in China and the major touring survey ‘Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia’ at the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of WA, Auckland Art Gallery and National Gallery of Singapore. He was one of eight finalists in the 2026 Artbank Prize for his photographic work, CK, 2025, which was also acquired by the esteemed institution. His work is held in public and private collections across Australia and internationally, including the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, National Gallery of Australia, Australian War Memorial, Newcastle Art Gallery, Art Gallery of South Australia and Art Gallery of Ballarat.
