‘Welcome to Hell’: Tassie sign outrage to promote Dark Mofo

A provocative sign at Hobart Airport to promote a controversial art and live music festival has been removed after triggering numerous complaints.

A provocative sign at Hobart Airport to promote an edgy art and live music festival has been removed after triggering numerous complaints.

The sign, which read “Welcome to Hell” at the baggage claim area in the terminal was designed to promote Dark Mofo, a spin-off from the popular MONA festival, which runs in June.

But after fielding several complaints including concerns that the advertisement was scaring children, Hobart Airport decided to remove it.

Festival’s creative director Leigh Carmichael told news.com.au the decision was an “over-reaction”.

He said the festival’s organisers were “disappointed” in the airport’s decision.

The sign at Hobart Airport.

He described it as a “clearly tongue-in-cheek” reference one of the major events in this year’s festival — A Divine Comedy by Austrian artist Florentina Holzinger.

“There is obviously a lot of nervousness in the community about the festival after years of controversy, but this seems an over-reaction,” he said.

“Our fear is that eventually we will be forced to water down our thematics to a point that the festival becomes bland, and no longer worth doing at all.”

A Hobart Airport spokesman told The Mercury the festival was “proud to support Dark Mofo over many years and continues to do so”.

An inverted cross at the ‘edgy’ Dark Mofo festival.

“Every year we change our iconic ‘Welcome to Hobart’ sign above our terminal to fit in with the theme of Dark Mofo and will be doing so again this year, along with lighting up the airport in red once more,” he said.

“We are a family-friendly airport and want to make sure everyone can enjoy their visit, so we’re not showing one particular advertisement inside the terminal.”

History of controversy

Dark Mofo, now in its 10th year, is no stranger to controversy.

ABC Radio presenter James Valentine described the live music and art festival as the “festival Sydney wouldn’t allow”.

Dark Mofo has courted controversy since its inception 10-years-ago.

The event has courted controversy since its inception.

During the inaugural festival, seven people were hospitalised after suffering seizures during Kurt Hentschlager’s ZEE, a light installation described as “psychedelic architecture”. The exhibit was briefly shut down by local health authorities.

In 2016, a series of artworks were taken down after local art students complained.

In 2017, animal rights activists protested Hermann Nitsch’s 150 — an action performance piece during which participants writhed in the entrails of a slaughtered bull.

The controversy continued in 2018 with petitions from the Australian Christian Lobby and the local Coptic Bishop Anba Suriel calling for the removal of inverted crosses situated around Hobart.

In 2021 Dark Mofo made international headlinesfor commissioning the work Union Flag by Spanish artist Santiago Sierra, in which a British flag would be soaked in blood to be donated by Indigenous people from nations colonised by the British Empire.

Mr Carmichael initially defended the work, but it was eventually cancelled in response to the criticism.

ABC radio presenter James Valentine describe the live music and art festival as the ‘festival Sydney wouldn’t allow’.

Ironically, the work had been intended as a denouncement of colonialism but instead triggered accusations of racism and a campaign to force Mr Carmichael from the helm of the festival he created 10 years ago.

He later told the Australian Financial Review that he was burnt by cancel culture while admitting the backlash was partially warranted.

“I thought the art world was a safe space for [discussing ideas] … but it’s not a safe space any more,” he said.

“At the moment the left is just as nasty as the right. I think about it now and I think, was it really that bad?...You start to self-censor a little bit just to protect yourself.”

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