Mona’s winter festival Dark Mofo returns for its eighth iteration in 2021, illuminating the darkest Hobart nights with seven nights of art, music, feasting, and community rituals.
After last year’s festival cancellation due to COVID-19, organizers are committed to offering much of this year’s program to Dark Mofo’s dedicated audience for free.
Dark Mofo 2021 presents artists from Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Kuwait, Russia, Sri Lanka, UK, and the USA, along with a series of world premieres and Australian exclusives. Plus the return of Dark Mofo’s signature events — including the annual Winter Feast on Hobart’s waterfront, Ogoh-Ogoh Purging and The Burning, and the Nude Solstice Swim at sunrise after the longest night.
This festival will christen the new DarkLab Bell Tower, positioned above the Cathedral at In The Hanging Garden. This is the first bell tower erected in Hobart in close to 100 years, and the 1800kg bell was salvaged from a demolished church in Chicago to travel to Tasmania. The DarkLab Bell Tower has a bell designed to be swung through a full circle in the English tradition, joining St. David’s Cathedral and the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church as the only three bell towers in Tasmania to do so.
Creative Director Leigh Carmichael said: “The sub-theme for last year’s festival was Death. When the festival was killed by Covid in March, we were left disoriented, confused, and with a sense of loss for a program that was stillborn. The subsequent isolation of lockdown caused further anguish.
“We, like the rest of the world found ourselves in the midst of a long dark night. It seems that in moments of despair when all else fails, we journey inward. A journey that is sometimes referred to as The Dark Night of the Soul. The darkness representing the fact that the destination is unknowable. The only light along the path is that which burns in the soul.
“It is within this context that we present our 2021 festival, and pray it brings a glimmer of light in these uncertain times. We invite you to come to the cross.”
Art highlights: Pope Alice Close Encounters*, 404.zero (Russia)*, Tianzhuo Chen (China), Julie Rrap, Pictoplasma + Akinori Oishi (Germany/Japan), Monira Al Qadiri (Kuwait), Jonathan Schipper (USA), Jonathas de Andrade (Brazil), Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran (Sri Lanka/Australia), Paradise Lost at TMAG, CRONE at Mona.
Music highlights: Thurston Moore (USA)*, Circuit des Yeux (USA)*, The Dead C (NZ)*, Wobbly (USA)*, Om (USA)*, Jeremy Gara (Canada/Arcade Fire), Confidence Man, Lo!, Tangents, A. Swayze & The Ghosts, King Stingray, Misery, Black Cab, Slag Queens, The Amenta, Drug Cult, Grace Cummings, Chloe Alison Escott, Shoeb Ahmad, All Saints Compline Choir*, Gavin Bryars (UK)* with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
404.zero (RUS), photo by Ivan Volkov
More: Mammalian Diving Reflex / Darren O’Donnell (Canada)*, Winter Feast, Ogoh-Ogoh Purging and The Burning, Nude Solstice Swim, Solstice fireworks, and some surprises. (*denotes exclusives and premieres).
Home State Reclamation Walk |
Aunty Vicki-Laine Green, Mitchem Everett, Sheldon Thomas, Emma Robertson, Tayne Thomas, Jarrod Hughes, Trish Hodge, Luana Towney, Jason Thomas, Roy Thomas, Bronwyn Dillon, Linton Burgess, Danny Gardner, Jason Smith, Fiona Hughes, Craig Everett, AJ King, Caleb Nichols-Mansell, Leroy Hart, Fiona Hall
Walk with us. Follow fire and smoke to the place where the trees have taken root: a street through our town retaken by vegetation, as people gather for the festival’s opening night. The list of artists grows as individuals come forward to own the project.
+ Wednesday 16 June, 6 pm, Meeting place: K&D Car Park, Murray Street, Free
ART
Memorial | Alex Podger (Australia)
Memorial is a spectacular public ritual that invites Tasmanian residents to have the ashes of their loved ones placed into a handmade firework shell, to be launched above Hobart’s Derwent River. Memorial will create a powerful tribute to the beauty and complexity of life — one which exists for only seconds, painting a stunning willow in the sky before fading back into the night — a stark contrast to gravestones and plaques that remain for centuries, slowly burdening future generations in the battle for space in growing cities. World premiere.
+ Wednesday 16–Sunday 20 June, 6–8 pm, Hobart waterfront, Register via darkmofo.net.au
Paradise Lost | TMAG
The first major exhibition about Thomas Griffiths Wainewright (1794–1847): the renowned London critic and suspected serial poisoner who was eventually convicted of forgery and sent to Hobart, sentenced to transportation for life. He is now regarded as one of Australia’s most accomplished colonial artists. Featuring works by Thomas Griffiths Wainewright, Henry Fuseli, William Blake, Archipelago Productions, Titian, Rembrandt, Correggio, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Warning: some artworks may be confronting and parental discretion is advised. Presented by Dark Mofo and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
+ Wednesday 16 June–Tuesday 22 June, see website for opening hours. Continues until 3 October, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Free.
Pope Alice Close Encounters (Australia)
For this year’s Dark Mofo, In The Hanging Garden’s Cathedral venue will be transformed into X-Cathedra; the festival home of our Patron Saint, Her Divine Holiness Pope Alice. Her timeless mission statement “Love Is The Key” becomes more relevant than ever. To restore cosmic order during the Winter Solstice, She is manifesting in Hobart on the edge of mysterious Antarctica. As Santa Alicia, Patron Saint of the Hanging Garden Cathedral, she’ll bestow gifts upon the faithful during ancient ritualism and outrageous ceremony. Australian exclusive. Warning: lasers and smoke. Curated by Theia Connell.
+ Wednesday 16 June, 7 pm–10 pm, Thursday 17–Sunday 20 June, 5 pm–10 pm, X-Cathedra, 112 Murray St, Free.
spectra | Ryoji Ikeda (Japan)
Mona switches on Ryoji Ikeda’s monumental beacon with 49 xenon searchlights reaching to the sky and marking the winter solstice. spectra run for the duration of the festival, but you can come to visit when Mona is open: Friday 18–Monday 21 June, lights up from dusk (around 4.30 pm). Food and drink at the wine bar and lawns until 6.30 pm each night.
+ Wednesday 16–Tuesday 22 June, sunset to sunrise, Mona, Free.
The Tench | Pauline Curnier Jardin + Georgie Mattingley (Australia)
Surreal dreams of incarceration, sex, and surveillance in an old colonial jail. Two artists, two video works. Post-menopausal women celebrate their erotic power behind bars after killing the young men who scorned them. A retelling by Pauline Curnier Jardin of Jean Genet’s only film. Nearby, staff undergoes training in a dystopian gated institution: a sinister-kitsch world of power, punishment, and feeling, created by artist Georgie Mattingley after working in a high-security prison. Warning: sexually explicit and violent material. Curated by Theia Connell.
+ Wednesday 16–Sunday 20 June, 5–11 pm, The Hobart Penitentiary, corner Brisbane and Campbell Streets, Free.
CRONE | Sally Rees (Australia)
Sally Rees’ new exhibition at Mona, will surround you with a flock of ‘birds’—animated portraits that call to one another in the dark, their breath and sound given shape by puffs and clouds of hand-drawn colour. These ‘birds’ are also, in Rees’ vision, crones: portraits of aging women from her life that she aspires to emulate. Curated by Nicole Durling.
CRONE was commissioned by the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona), as part of Suspended Moment: The Katthy Cavaliere Fellowship, made possible with funds from the Estate of Katthy Cavaliere in partnership with Carriageworks and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA).
+ Friday 18 June–Monday 1 November, Museum of Old and New Art, Included in museum entry.
The Dust | Tianzhuo Chen (China)
An outlandish tale of death and rebirth, devoid of humankind. Artist Tianzhuo’s latest video vision sees farming tools and ceremonial relics take on new significance, set in a Tibetan village and celestial burial ground. Curated by Theia Connell.
+ Wednesday 16–Sunday 20 June, 5–11 pm, Black Temple Gallery, 47 Davey Street, Free.
Nightwalks with Teenagers | Mammalian Diving Reflex / Darren O’Donnell (Canada)
Roam through Hobart’s nocturnal landscape with local teens as your guide. Grounded by the power of walking together, this is an unexpected, intergenerational tour of our town, where anything can happen.
+ Thursday 17–Sunday 20 June, 7–9.30 pm, Hobart Central Car Park, Melville Street, $39 + booking fee / Door sales $45 (subject to capacity). Recommended ages 18+
Thence We Came Forth to Rebehold the Stars | Alex Podger with Gareth Brown and Stuart Bensley
Fire in the sky on the longest night. An experimental percussion score will be transposed from London into a pyrotechnic symphony here in Hobart, inspired by Dante’s Inferno and other concepts of chaos and crisis. A collaboration between pyro artist Alex Podger, London-based drummer Gareth Brown, audio producer Benjamin Yellowitz, and Stuart Bensley from Howard & Sons Fireworks.
+ Monday 21 June, 6 pm, Hobart waterfront, Free.
DARK DOWNTOWN | AFTER-DARK ART PATH IN CENTRAL HOBART
The heart of the city beats loud after hours. Dark Mofo’s new after-hours art path snaking through central Hobart, with a variety of venues hosting art exhibitions, live performances, and intimate bars throughout Liverpool, Bathurst and Melville Street between Murray and Harrington streets. Bars, food, and music in the streets. Program details are below.
+ Wednesday 16–Sunday 20 June, various opening times between 5–11 pm.
Home State nipaluna |
Aunty Vicki-Laine Green, Mitchem Everett, Sheldon Thomas, Emma Robertson, Tayne Thomas, Jarrod Hughes, Trish Hodge, Luana Towney, Jason Thomas, Roy Thomas, Bronwyn Dillon, Linton Burgess, Danny Gardner, Jason Smith, Fiona Hughes, Craig Everett, AJ King, Caleb Nichols-Mansell, Leroy Hart, Fiona Hall
This is a story of Community coming together to build a traditional hut, and rekindle knowledge and skills that were once shared widely before the colonial invasion of lutruwita.
3.2 | 404.zero (Russia)
A great chamber of light and body-shaking vibrations from Russian performance duo 404.zero, borne of artists Alexander Letcius and Kristina Karpysheva’s fascination with death and the cosmos. Commissioned by Dark Mofo, Australian exclusive and world premiere.
The Character Ride | Pictoplasma (Germany) x Akinori Oishi (Japan)
A surreal interactive sculpture by Pictoplasma, the global platform for contemporary character design and art, this character sculpture customized by Japanese artist Akinori Oishi smiles at you and follows your movements. Jump on and hold on tight. Curated by Theia Connell in collaboration with Remco Schuurbiers.
Double Eclipse | Julie Rrap (Australia)
Overhead a great pair of eyes begin to go blind, as if by a solar eclipse. Metaphor for the power of the gaze, the blindness of desire, and a window to the mind of artist Julie Rrap. Curated by Theia Connell.
Behind the Sun | Monira Al Qadiri (Kuwait)
Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri repurposes amateur VHS footage of Kuwait’s burning oil fields, set ablaze in the aftermath of the First Gulf War (1990–91). The artist combines these hellish vistas with audio monologues from Islamic television programs of the same era, which seek to visualise the divine through natural miracles. Curated by Theia Connell.
Slow Room | Jonathan Schipper (USA)
A living room is slowly pulled into a hole in the wall, over the course of the festival. Courtesy of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Curated by Theia Connell in collaboration with Remco Schuurbiers.
O Peixe | Jonathas de Andrade (Brazil)
River fishermen in remote Brazil cradle the dying catch in their arms. The affectionate gesture that accompanies the passage of death is a testament to a relationship between species that is imbued with strength, violence and domination. This film has been made with a group of fishermen of Piaçabuçu and Coruripe, by the river São Francisco and the sea, Northeast of Brazil.
Earth Deities | Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran (Sri Lanka/Australia)
A series of monumental, sculptural false gods come to life at night through fire, electricity, and the generative force of destruction. Commissioned by Dark Mofo. Curated by Theia Connell.
MUSIC
Thurston Moore with Wobbly (USA)
The post-punk legend lands in Hobart for a festival residency. Thurston Moore founded Sonic Youth in 1980, turning on an entire generation to the value of experimentation in rock n roll. He’s performing for Dark Mofo with long-time collaborator, experimental electronic music composer Wobbly (Jon Leidecker). Australian exclusive.
+ Friday 18 June, 7pm (doors open 6pm), Odeon Theatre, $129 + booking fee / Door sales $135 (subject to capacity). 18+
Thurston Moore (USA) with The Dead C (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
Sonic Youth founder Thurston Moore is joined by legends of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s underground, the Dead C have been hailed by Thurston as one of the most interesting bands in the world. Formed in 1987, the Dead C (Michael Morley, Bruce Russell and Robbie Yeats) have continuously walked a tightrope stretched between rock and free improvisation. Their 30-year career has resulted in more than 30 albums on a bewildering array of independent labels across the globe. *Australian exclusive.
+ Wednesday 16 June, 8pm (doors 7pm), Odeon Theatre, $129 + booking fee / Door sales $135 (subject to capacity).
The Dead C (Aotearoa/New Zealand) with Lucas Abela (Australia)
Legends of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s underground, The Dead C makes conventional instruments sound anything but conventional. Lucas Abela, who plays an amplified pane of glass like a bellow-less reed instrument. The glass does not always play nice.
+ Saturday 19 June, 6.30pm (doors 6pm), Altar, 112 Murray Street, Free (subject to capacity).
Om (USA)
Formed as a duo in 2003 by the rhythm section of the band Sleep, Om is a Heavy Eastern rhythm trio from the USA. Australian exclusive.
+ Friday 18 June, 11pm (doors 10pm), Odeon Theatre, $99 + booking fee / Door sales $105 (subject to capacity).
Circuit des Yeux (USA)
Chicago-based composer and vocal powerhouse Haley Fohr brings her meditative dark folk and octave-spanning melancholia to Hobart’s Federation Concert Hall. Australian exclusive.
+ Saturday 19 June, 7pm (doors open 6pm), Federation Concert Hall, $49–$59 + booking fee / Door sales $55–$65 (subject to capacity).
Circuit des Yeux: Music Box
Haley Fohr plays and sings with music boxes (given to her over eighteen birthdays), having deconstructed and altered the melody turbines. A long-awaited project for the artist, featuring soft instrumentation and ambient sound. With guest support from sound artists Shoeb Ahmad and Alex Albrecht in an intimate setting.
+ Thursday 17 June, 6.30pm (doors open 6pm), Altar, 112 Murray Street, Free (subject to capacity).
X-Cathedra | In The Hanging Garden
Late night party church is in session: In The Hanging Garden’s Cathedral transforms into hallowed ground for Dark Mofo with late-night DJs, live performances, and nightly blessings from the festival’s fabulous patron saint, Pope Alice. Warning: this venue hosts performances that feature loud noise, strobe lighting, lasers, and smoke.
+ Wednesday 16–Sunday 20 June, 11am–late, In The Hanging Garden, Free (DJs and 18+ after 10pm).
{{black:rainbow}} (Australia)
Ritual offering of smoke, noise, and liminal exploration… sacred to {{black:rainbow}} goddess of serene chaos. DJs upstairs.
+ Wednesday 16 June, 8pm, Altar + High Altar, 112 Murray Street, Free (subject to capacity).
Night Shift
You better work. Late night, double-level dance party. Electronic DJs, nocturnal artists, and things that go bump in the dark. Program to be announced soon.
+ Thursday 17–Sunday 20 June, 10pm–late, Altar + High Altar, 112 Murray Street, Door sales $20 per night (subject to capacity), 18+
Lo! + Injured Ninja + Threats + Drug Cult (Australia)
Lo!: Metal from Sydney. Groove-laden fury. They’ll perform their acclaimed album Vestigial in full. Injured Ninja: Noise rock from Perth. A traditional power trio of guitar rock and bass that is loud, abrasive, euphoric. Threats: Thrash punk from Hobart. Aggressive excellence. Regulars at the Brissie. Drug Cult: Doom from Mullimbimby. Majestic heaviness. Psychedelic haze.
+ Thursday 17 June, 8pm (doors open 7pm), Odeon Theatre, Free (subject to capacity).
A Hut in Toyama: Viola Concerto |
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