Dark Mofo: Top acts Lingua Ignota and Deafheaven cancelled by Covid
Two headline music acts scheduled to rock the final weekend of Dark Mofo have been cancelled because of Covid among band members. What will happen with tickets >>
Tasmania
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tasmania. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Two of Dark Mofo’s hottest musical acts have been cancelled at the very last minute because band members have been struck down with Covid-19.
Lingua Ignota and Deafheaven were due to fly into Australia, but both bands had a case of Covid-19 and had to make an abrupt change of plans.
Lingua Ignota’s Kristin Hayter said it straight up “sucks”, but they had no other option.
“I was so looking forward to this event and I’m gutted to disappoint fans who have been waiting to see me in that part of the world,” Hayter said.
“I was greatly looking forward to this festival and this sucks, plain and simple.”
On Dark Mofo’s website, Deafheaven put out a statement saying they too had to cancel their trip also because of an infection.
“We’re saddened to announce the cancellation of our appearance at this year’s Dark Mofo,” Deafheaven said.
“While preparing for our flight yesterday, a member of our team tested positive for Covid-19 forcing us to forgo travel to Tasmania.”
On Thursday Dark Mofo put out a statement confirming the sudden cancellation.
“Unfortunately due to a number of Covid-19 cases, Lingua Ignota and Deafheaven are no longer able to make it to Australia for their solo shows and Sanctae Noctis,” they said.
“Ticket holders have been contacted.”
Sculpture for Dark Mofo favourite inspired by dreams
A colossal Tasmanian Masked Owl sculpture containing everyone’s fears and regrets will be purged by flame in a weird and spectacular cleansing ritual for Dark Mofo.
This year’s Ogoh-ogoh sculpture is named “Olivia” and its real-life counterpart teeters perilously on the brink of extinction in its native tarkine habitat.
The sculpture currently will nest in a giant black dome outside Hobart Parliament lawns before being set aflame on Sunday evening in front of a crowd of dazzled onlookers.
Before Olivia meets her fiery end, visitors can write down their biggest fears on a piece of paper to be “purged” by flame on Sunday inside the sculpture.
A different Tasmanian animal is picked every year for the Dark Mofo ritual.
Last year’s Ogoh-ogoh sculpture was a Mt Mangana stag beetle, which also languishes on the brink of extinction.
Creative producer Kas Charlies said the idea of a masked owl came to her as a spontaneous burst of artistic inspiration.
“Initially, I was thinking about doing something else, and then I had a few dreams about masked owls,” Ms Charlies said.
“I’m quite fond of owls.”
Ogoh-ogoh is inspired by a Balinese Hindu purification ritual and crafted by Balinese artists designed to purge fear and negativity.
The event has become one of Dark Mofo’s most iconic events and unfailingly attracts enormous crowds who come to bask in the roaring flames.
How sleepless nights created Dark Mofo’s rainbow
Art and science have come together in the creation of a colourful experience to take participants to their happy place.
Rainbow Dream: Moon Rainbow is a collaboration between artist Hiromi Tango and neuroscientist Dr Emma Burrows, which is on display on Melville Street for Dark Mofo.
“This work is about honouring the current challenging time now and the honouring the joy and happiness of rainbows,” Ms Tango said.
“The goal of this project from my artistic viewpoint, I’d like to see everyone smile.”
The room is filled with hand painted rainbows, has large screens with more rainbows on display, circular platforms and two human sized rainbow hamster wheels.
Ms Tango said there were many ways to experience the exhibition.
“You can enter the room through the little Tom and Jerry mouse hole and then from there it’s really up to you,” Ms Tango said.
“You can experience the wheel, a collaboration with Dr Emma Burrows, you can be a human mouse, you can dance in the space of the rainbow circle stage, you can interact with the rainbow meditation projections, you can follow the rainbow trails.
“For me, I hope you can feel safe and connected and feel nurturing in the space.”
Ms Tango said she wanted to make the space feel calm and opted for darker, night time lighting to avoid a “supermarket” vibe.
“The space was inspired by the night-time of the moon,” Ms Tango said.
“For me, during Covid lockdown, I think we all had sleepless nights concerning about the future.
“Looking at the moon and really the rainbow around it, it’s called moon bow, really made me feel comfortable.
“For me Dark Mofo and rainbow dream are a beautiful marriage.”
Using hamster wheels, Dr Burrows focused on how exercise can improve mood.
“We know exercise is good for our health,” Dr Burrows said.
“But its ability to boost our mood is one of those things that’s not at the centre of our mind.
“We have a lot of habits that we put in our busy days, brushing our teeth is one of those things people will stick to.
“But exercise especially when it’s so chilly outside isn’t so easy.”
Dr Burrows said she wanted to explore the conflict between knowing the benefits of exercise and being motivated.
“Can we incentivise Hobartians to come out, can we incentivise mainlanders to come down to Tasmania with a rainbow and with the feeling of being a mouse on a giant running wheel?” Dr Burrow said.
Reclamation: Dark Mofo kicks off with powerful statement
A single street closed off for an hour and a half was a minor inconvenience for Hobart motorists and a powerful metaphor for the disruption experienced by Aboriginal people.
Aboriginal Tasmanians and supporters walked through a disrupted and reclaimed Davey Street for the Reclamation Walk.
It’s the second year Dark Mofo has begun with the event, something that looks to become an essential for the winter festival.
“The reclamation walk for us is all about truth telling and it’s all about people in nipaluna Hobart reimagining their relationship with their city in a different way,” co-curator AJ King said.
“You’re talking about reclaiming something or taking something away.
“For me and my family, I’m from a stolen generation family, so both of my great grandparents were forcibly removed from their country and their people and that’s had a significant impact.”
The walk began at the Hobart cenotaph and ended at Franklin Square where tangible reminders of colonial devastation, veiled in cloth, were ignored.
“We talk about the disruption that’s had on our people, our families, our communities, our children,” Mr King said.
“That’s felt every day when we walk through this square and see these statues of these people.
Dark Mofo creative director Leigh Carmichael said the Reclamation Walk was becoming an important start to the festival.
“It’s about sharing knowledge and sharing the journey,” he said.
In 2021, when Dark Mofo ran as a scaled back festival, outrage was stirred by controversial work which was intended to be included.
The piece by a Spanish artist, to soak the UK flag in the blood of Aboriginal Australians, was cancelled after it prompted calls for it to be censored.
“We’re going to continue to work on strengthening and deepening our relationship with the Aboriginal community,” Mr Carmichael said.
“We have a number of aboriginal people on our staff now, a cultural adviser in place.
“I think we’ve expanded our first nations programming, it’s always been an important part of Dark Mofo but we’re building on that.”
So far 40,000 tickets to Dark Mofo events have been sold, 65 per cent of which were snapped up by mainlanders.
Melbourne festival goers, which were absent last year due to Covid restrictions, make up 75-80 per cent of interstate sales.
“We’re really excited to welcome Melbourne back again,” Mr Carmichael said.
“They feel as much a part of Dark Mofo as the locals given there’s often more of them at shows than the Tasmanian audience.”
Mr Carmichael said the festival was returning to normal.
“It’s the first proper festival we’ve been able to hold for a couple of years,” Mr Carmichael said.
“It feels like the start of a new era for Dark Mofo.”
Architect Jiri Lev to stand in Lyons urging no housing ‘ghettoes’
A prominent Tasmanian architect has decided to take a tilt at politics. Read why housing is his priority.
How women’s health service is bursting the bubble on taboo
The Bubble is a much loved women’s health clinic in Launceston, but it's struggling to meet the demand of Tasmanian women. How funding pledge could help them do more.