Mai Nguyễn-Long and Casey Chen

From 29 August

A SAM Collection showcase

On display on SAM’s Level 2, this showcase display brings into dialogue together a selection of works from artists Mai Nguyễn-Long and Casey Chen, which have recently been acquired into the SAM Collection.

Mai Nguyễn-Long’s story of Vomit Girl is one of family history and belonging, and has become a symbol that speaks broadly to diasporic trauma and erasure following the atrocities of the Vietnam War. Through her Vomit Girl installations, Nguyễn-Long collides cultural artefacts and personal histories, borrowing from Vietnamese rural aesthetics knows as mộc mạc. These armies of Vomit Girl sculptures have make-believe conversations and act as artistic devices attempting to mend what feels irreparably broken. 

Casey Chen transforms the traditional porcelain vase into a site of playful cultural convergence. In Heavy metal 2, 2025, Chen introduces vibrant iconography from Eastern and Western animation to Qing dynasty aesthetics. Familiar figures like Doraemon and Wile E. Coyote coexist on the glazed surface with characters from Journey to the West, a sixteenth-century Chinese novel about the adventures of the Monkey King, amidst a landscape of traditional motifs. By blending disparate eras and geographies, the artist reflects the hybridity of our digital, multicultural present. 

About the Artists

Mai Nguyễn-Long (b. 1970 Hobart, TAS) is an artist, academic, and storyteller whose multicultural upbringing informs the narratives that live through her work. Born in Tasmania to a Vietnamese father and Australian mother, Nguyễn-Long’s formative years were spent living in Papua New Guinea as well as the Philippines. Her work endeavours to crystallise her own identity, interrogating her migrations and acknowledging what was left behind.  

Casey Chen (b. 1996 Sydney, NSW) graduated from the National Art School with a Bachelor of Fine Arts majoring in ceramics, and was the recipient of the annual Harvey Galleries National Art School Exhibition award. His recent works are both a self-exploration and an homage to the rich and enduring history of Chinese porcelain craft and Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Chen won the Muswellbrook Art Prize in 2023, and most recently was a finalist in the 2025 Wynne Prize. 

Featured artwork: Mai Nguyễn-Long, Vigit Hefeco 2, 2023, Shepparton Art Museum Collection, purchased 2025. Photo: Shepparton Art Museum © the artist 

Location: Level 2 Showcase

Free