Dark Mofo is the Museum of Old and New Art’s (MONA)’s annual winter solstice festival; a ritualistic celebration of mythologies, traditions, darkness and light, as well as birth, death and renewal through art, theatre, music and cuisine, taking place from 8 to 21 June at various venues across the city.
Chris Levine, iy_project. Courtesy the artist and Dark Mofo
Austrian artist Hermann Nitsch uses approximately 500 litres of animal blood as his medium in 150.Action, a sacrificial performance, sparking controversy and backlash from animal rights activists over the slaughtering of a cow for art’s sake. However, Creative Director, Leigh Carmichael says the animal “will be killed humanely” at a local abattoir beforehand. “We understand that [Nitsch’s] work will be confronting and difficult, but we will not shy away from presenting work that challenges us to consider the ethical implications of our actions both today, and in the past”, she continued.
The festival’s traffic-stopping centrepiece, Siren Song by Byron J Scullin & Supple Fox will signal the arrival and departure of daylight, elevating female voices concerned with the future of humanity to a scale of broadcast suited to the importance of their message. Light installation, iy_project 136.I Hz, by UK artist Chris Levine diffracts lasers across the night sky spanning 10km, Australian performance artist Mike Parr returns with a participatory work for the over 55s and Russian collective Pussy Riot conduct a Q&A. Exhibitions by Daniel Boyd, Milan Milojevic, Marco Fusinato and Striborg, Jess Johnson (NZ) and Andrew Clarke and Pony Express, as well as ‘The Museum of Everything’ at MONA.
darkmofo.net.au
