The creative soul behind Dark Mofo

Leigh Carmichael, 43, is the controversial creative director of Hobart’s Dark Mofo festival.

Dark Mofo creative director Leigh Carmichael Picture: Luke Bowden

Leigh Carmichael, 43, is creative director of Hobart’s Dark Mofo festival and a board member of the Australia Council. In 2005 he won a job designing beer labels for MONA boss David Walsh and they’ve worked together since. He is a father of three, and hates being told what to do.

Dark Mofo breaks a lot of rules (though there was that time you cancelled a flame-throwing pipe organ to avoid ear damage). When it comes to rules in the Carmichael household, where do you draw the line?

Luckily, my wife [Angela, a former state netballer] is more disciplined than I am. Kids need boundaries; they need them so they can push up against them. She’s very good with the kids. I’m a little bit slack. But things like respect and the way they speak to people are pretty important.

Does being a parent have anything to do with your push to institute a pill-testing trial program at this year’s festival?

It certainly does. My daughter is 19 and she’s out and about. We all know kids take risks and 18 and 20-year-olds are naive. The last thing we want to see is kids not going home after attending our festival or at any time of the year. There’s plenty of evidence from Europe, where they’ve been doing pill-testing for 20 years and they’ve had really good success rates in reducing hospitalisations. It’s one of the things we lose quite a bit of sleep over as the festival is approaching. When you look at all the risks with our open fires and loud noises and smoke, things that seem dangerous but really are quite controlled, the biggest risk we face is probably something happening in that late-night space.

You grew up Mormon but now you’re running a festival inspired by pagan rituals. Can these belief systems learn anything from each other?

Dark Mofo certainly looks at pagan ritual, but we’re interested in exploring things we don’t understand, and I think that’s where we cross over with all religions. Growing up a Mormon probably set me off on a path of asking questions such as: why are we here? We all ask these questions, but maybe when you’re in an organised religion you do it more often. I’d love to know if I would have been just as fascinated in philosophy, religion and mythology had I not been brought up (in the Mormon faith).

In 2017 you received death threats around the staging of artist Hermann Nitsch’s performance piece involving a bull carcass and 500 litres of blood. Is this sort of programming worth it?

Both David [Walsh] and I suffered a little through that. But I think you also build up resilience and I absolutely wouldn’t do it any differently again. That work was very much looking at pagan ritual, sacrifice, the horror of life and the fact that we eat other life in order to survive … We had 3000 people sign up to see that performance. It may not be for everyone but there’s a certain section of society or community that are interested in those themes, which are pretty challenging. That’s why that work is ­important.

When you have restless nights, what’s your ritual for getting back to sleep?

If I’m really struggling I go through a little repetitive mantra in my mind. That seems to calm me down somewhat.

Dark Mofo takes place in Hobart, June 6-23.