Self portraits of acclaimed Australian artist Damien Shen depicting his indigenous roots are the focus of his new exhibition of photographs and lithographs.
The exhibition, On the Fabric Ngarrindjeri Body – Volume II, was launched at CS Gallery last week as part of NAIDOC celebrations and is on until July 23.
Shen said he used a series of photographs with Richard Lyons to explore his Aboriginal identity as well as portray the “objectification of the culture”.
Shen is a South Australian man of Ngarrindjeri and Chinese bloodlines. He said posing for the photographs was the first time that he had personally been painted up in the Ngarrindjeri way.
Mayor Sophie Ramsey said she was overwhelmed with the quality of his work.
“Damien Shen is a masterful artist, and it’s particularly fitting that we present an exhibition exploring and celebrating Aboriginal identity and culture during NAIDOC Week 2017,” Cr Ramsey said.
Shen will be visiting CS Gallery and holding an artist talk about his works.
