Seesaws are universal. These ones are semi-intelligent and will, as you jump on and have a go, eavesdrop on and respond to your A-grade chit-chat and screams of glee.

###### Supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body

###### Image: Gregory Lorenzutti

Madeleine Flynn + Tim Humphrey

Endurance performance artist Ben Landau is back: this time, he’s leading 24 hours of non-stop humming. Bring your pursed lips and come and help him out.

Drop in and out as you like.

Ben Landau

Environmental virtual reality. Grab a VR headset and be transported into the midst of that great Tassie wilderness, the Tarkine—the second biggest cool temperate rainforest on the planet, now facing possible destruction. With a soundscape by Jim Moginie of Midnight Oil.

###### Soma Lumia is Darryl Rogers, Troy Merritt, James Riggall, Aaron Ross and Joe Robinson

Soma Lumia with Jim Moginie

A costume making workshop, with Terrapin Puppet Theatre. Roll up your sleeves and assist artists in creating preposterous armour from recycled and salvaged objects for a production of Alfred Jarry’s *The Ubu Plays*, a wild satire of power, greed and revolution from nineteenth-century France. Your crafty creations will then feature in our production of Jarry’s work, set to premiere at Mona Foma 2020.

###### Assisted by the Australian Government through the Department of Communications and the Arts’ Festivals Australia program

Ubu Studio

Psychedelic Saharan desert rock. Hailing from a remote commune in Central Niger, performers Fatou, Alamnou, Ahmoudou and Fitimita shake up the male-dominated Tuareg music scene and rework ancient village folk music for modern ears. The result? Hypnotic guitars, traditional percussion and rhythmic desert grooves.

###### Image: Mirat Ghislain

Les Filles de Illighadad

Charlotte Adigéry and her pals make weird, minimalist pop and electronica. Charlotte’s vocals are backed by slabs of synth, spiky electronics, and trance-y drums. 

WWWater

Small town, big dick.  
Late-night festival party, extra fries.

## [Friday night](/program/faux-mo-friday "Friday Night") 

## [Saturday night](/program/faux-mo-saturday "Saturday Night")

Faux Mo

Magisterial electro pop, choral soul, warped gospel, and dancefloor glam from South African singer, actor and author Nakhane.

Nakhane

Gaston Bertin

Louise Blyton

Steven Carson

Danica Chappell

Anton Hart

Brent Hallard

David Hawley

Emma Langridge

Susie Leahy Raleigh

David Marsden

Lisa Sharp

Paul Snell

Ryllton Viney

Paul Zika

A celebration of the return to form, following the dark ages of conceptual art.

##### Curated by Paul Snell

###### Presented in partnership with Poimena Gallery

Formal

Jazz off the leash. Evan and his musical mates do John Coltrane, the great American architect of free jazz. Last year at the Block Party they did *A Love Supreme*; this year, it’s *First Meditations*, a largely undiscovered Coltrane gem and formative record for the musician’s distinctive sound and style.

Evan Carydakis Quartet

An explosion of technicolour Australiana. Artist Rosie Deacon will create an installation drenched in 1990s childhood nostalgia and Australian summer sentimentality.
 
#### Curated by Emma Pike

Rosie Deacon

Wild dance and experimental synth wave, set in a landscape of flickering television sets and inspired by the infamous subway scene in Andrzej Zulawski’s cult film *Possession*. Choreographer and performer Dana Gingras will be joined on stage by radical noise duo group A, with an installation by media artist Sonya Stefan and lighting design by Mikko Hynninen.

### Australian premiere

##### Produced by Animals of Distinction
 
###### Supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Quebec 

###### Image: Yannick Grandmont

###### Warning: this performance contains strobe lighting.

Dana Gingras + group A + Sonya Stefan

This eight-piece Ethio-funk band fills the dancefloor with traditional Ethiopian song, jazz, hip hop, and raucous modern rhythms. They’ve played everywhere from Glastonbury to the UN—and now, Launceston.

Black Jesus Experience

Look up—specifically, to the dome of QVMAG’s planetarium, as Tasmanian artists Jen Brown and Helene Weeding ponder the skies above us, the nature of modern travel and global tourism. They’ll transform the space with projected watercolours, photography of the Cataract Gorge chairlift, and recorded sound.

Jen Brown + Helene Weeding

A celebration of artwork by Tasmanian college students, as they contemplate their hopes and fears for the future.

ArtRage

Rogue concert harpist Emily Sanzaro will explore meditation through chilled out improvisation.

Emily Sanzaro

A spectacular intersection of music, theatre and art, imagined from the perspective of an alien intelligence that has absorbed the entire history of our planet. This is MYRIAD: a grand, four-part performance of medieval folk, electronic dance music, R&B, and science fiction-esque visuals, by producer and composer Oneohtrix Point Never and the MYRIAD ensemble.

###### Oneohtrix Point Never performs with the MYRIAD Ensemble, featuring live visuals from long time collaborator Nate Boyce together with Kelly Moran, Aaron David Ross and Eli Keszler

### MYRIAD is an Australian premiere and exclusive

Oneohtrix Point Never

Lasers, electronics, amplified percussion and harpsichord. Audio-visual artist Robin Fox and new music mavericks Ensemble Offspring (Claire Edwardes and Zubin Kanga) will rework Greek composer Iannis Xenakis’ landmark, yet little known, *Polytopes*: large-scale architectural environments combining sound, light and colour. They’ll take on two of Xenakis’ instrumental works, *Komboi* (1981) and *Rebonds* (1988).

###### Image: Bruno Destombes

Robin Fox + Ensemble Offspring

Local heroines of stoner rock, grunge and psychedelia.

Bansheeland

Tasdance and a group of Bhutanese locals use dance, music, narrative and moving image to tell tales about refugees and resettlement.

###### Contributing artists: Mon Rai, Obeth Sampang, Purni Pradhan, Susmita Pradhan, Bijay Tamang, Alisha Pradha, Binod Biswa, Yadav Mangar, Alicia Desumbuk Ay, Sital Chetri, Zenith Tamang, Majdur Subba, Bir Maya Khesang, Buddhi Rai, Binita Rai, Pabrita Tshaba Limbu, Manita Awana Hangkhim Rai, Gurungko Chora, Asmita Raina, Ajur Rai, Ganga Biswa, Nar Gurung, Bishal Rai, Dil Khaling, Poonam Gurung, Dolman Rai, and Nar Biswa.

###### Directed by Gabriel Comerford and Adam Wheeler
###### Produced by Alison Copley
###### Music Producer James Mangohig
###### Projection and Lighting Gabriel Comerford and Adam Wheeler
###### Tasdance Artists Sofie Burgoyne, Thomas E.S. Kelly, Rachel Arianne Ogle and Isabella Stone

###### Presented in partnership with the Migrant Resource Centre, Northern Tasmania

Tasdance

‘Until the revolution comes—and it will come in our lifetime as people begin to awaken from their collective slumber—I choose to create music of light and beauty through one carefully placed note at a time. It is a privilege to do so, but it’s also a protest.’  
—Calvin Bowman, organ master and musical revolutionary

Calvin Bowman

Hobart post-punk, tough noir rock, and shimmering new wave. Featuring former Launcestonian, guitarist and singer Emma Waters.

EWAH & The Vision of Paradise

Japanese Stone Age style and durational improvisation on raw shakuhachi.

###### Supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

###### Image: Kentaro Hisadomi

Sabu Orimo

__2018  
Unclassified 15+  
Directed by Georgia Lucy  __

A warped love letter to Tasmania.

Friday 18 January, 5.15pm  
Saturday 19 January, 4.30pm  
Sunday 20 January, 2.10pm  
QVMAG Theatrette, Inveresk Precinct, Launceston  
Included in Three Day Festival Ticket or relevant Day Pass  

The Spirit of Tasmania: A Poem about a Party

__2017  
Unclassified 15+  
Directed by Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore  __

Over forty female artists reflect on the Australian music industry. Tina Arena, Renée Geyer, Julia Stone, Jen Cloher, Mojo Juju, Simona Castricum, Sampa the Great, Emma Donovan and more.

Friday 18 January, 6pm  
Saturday 19 January, 4.50pm  
Sunday 20 January, 2.30pm  
QVMAG Theatrette, Inveresk Precinct, Launceston  
Included in Three Day Festival Ticket or relevant Day Pass  

Her Sound, Her Story

__2017  
Unclassified  
Directed by Cath Le Couteur  __

The secret world of space junk. Part of Project Adrift, led by artists Cath Le Couteur and Nick Ryan.

Nick will join us for the Sunday screening of this film. You can also see his Machine 9 artwork at QVMAG during the festival.

Friday 18 January, 7.30pm  
Saturday 19 January, 2.10pm  
Sunday 20 January, 3.45pm  
QVMAG Theatrette, Inveresk Precinct, Launceston  
Included in Three Day Festival Ticket or relevant Day Pass  

Adrift

__2017  
PG  
Directed by Stephen Nomura Schible  __

Filmed over five years, Stephen Nomura Schible’s new documentary shines a light on Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Japanese visionary musician, Oscar-winning composer, dancer, artist and activist.

Friday 18 January, 8pm  
Saturday 19 January, 2.30pm  
Sunday 20 January, 6.15pm  
QVMAG Theatrette, Inveresk Precinct, Launceston  
Included in Three Day Festival Ticket or relevant Day Pass  

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda

__2017  
MA15+  
Directed by John Trengove  __

Mofo main-stager Nakhane stars in this South African drama of forbidden love and traditional Xhosa culture.

Saturday 19 January, 6.15pm  
Sunday 20 January, 8.15pm  
QVMAG Theatrette, Inveresk Precinct, Launceston  
Included in Three Day Festival Ticket or relevant Day Pass  

The Wound (Inxeba)

__2017  
Unclassified 15+  
Directed by Christopher Kirkley  __

Part folktale, part acid western. A young man leaves home in search of an enchanted oasis in the Sahara. Written and directed with a local Tuareg cast.

Saturday 19 January, 8.15pm  
QVMAG Theatrette, Inveresk Precinct, Launceston  
Included in Three Day Festival Ticket or relevant Day Pass  

Zerzura

__1963  
Unclassified 15+  
Directed by Jindřich Polák  __

Blast off to the year 2163—via the 1960s—aboard the good ship Ikarie XB-1, on a mission to Alpha Centauri in search of extra-terrestrial life. Polák’s film features a pioneering electronic score and Czech-tech astronautical design realness, and influenced Kubrick’s *2001: A Space Odyssey*.

Sunday 20 January, 4.30pm  
QVMAG Theatrette, Inveresk Precinct, Launceston  
Included in Three Day Festival Ticket or relevant Day Pass  

Ikarie XB-1

A series of festival-related flicks, projects by guest performers, and space junk cinema. Full film program announced soon.

Cinemofo

Kathryn Camm

Scott Cunningham

C.J. Edwards

Paul Eggins

Joanna Gair

Neil Haddon

Wayne Hudson

Michael Kay

Kim Lehman

Sara Lindsay

Liam James

Abbey MacDonald

Ben Miller

Anna van Stralen

Specimens of corporeal wonder and disease from the university’s medical collection, and the artistic responses they provoke. The body in art and science.

Entry to the exhibition is free, except during Friday 18–Sunday 20 January (when you’ll need a festival ticket).

#### Curated by Dr Malcom Bywaters

###### A University of Tasmania University Museum of Art and Sciences pilot exhibition project

###### Presented in partnership by Mona Foma, Launceston College, the Launceston Big Picture School, and the University of Tasmania School of Medicine, Launceston Clinical School, College of Health and Medicine

###### Includes human specimens, objects, artworks and teaching materials on loan from the University of Tasmania R.A. Rodda Museum, Library Special and Rare Collections, Fine Art Collection, John Elliott Classics Museum, School of Physical Sciences Collection and the Rock Library and Geological Museum


Art of the Body: Health, Beauty, and Desire

Morning sax at its best: improvised jazz and folk.

Spike Mason

Performance duo *INNER COURSE* use spontaneous role-play and improvisation to implicate the public in complicit acts of mindful reprieve, play and 'vulnerability exchange’.

#### Curated by Kirsha Kaechele

INNER COURSE

Keep an eye out for Kenny’s murals at the main festival space at Inveresk and popping up on walls around the city. His paintings respond to contemporary Australian culture and iconography by poking fun of some things and celebrating others.

#### Curated by Pippa Mott

Kenny Pittock

Tassie photographer and video artist Lou Conboy reinvents the myth of Sisyphus with witch goddesses and she-trolls, and transplants the story to the landscape of northern Tasmania.
 
#### Curated by Pippa Mott


Lou Conboy

Indie rock darling, reformed Tasmanian and raconteur of the Australian ugliness. They can’t get enough of her in the US, too: there, she’s been described as a Bob Dylan for the Antipodes, and Barack Obama listens to her at the gym. For us, Barnett and band will tear up the stage with whiplash wit and riff-tastic guitars.

###### Image: Kylie Coutts

Courtney Barnett

Existential pop songs, sung in spandex. Influenced by Nancy Sinatra, Serge Gainsbourg, and orchestral pop of yesteryear.

###### Image: Adam Custins

Jonathan Bree

Meditate to experimental clarinet, brought to you by Australian Art Orchestra performer and composer Aviva Endean.

Aviva Endean

Spiky industrial noise, experimental synth, performance art, and DIY punk glamour from the Berlin and Tokyo underground.

###### Supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade


group A

High energy dance, popping up all over the place. Everyone say ‘Audience participation!’

###### Presented by Launceston Airport

###### Image: Melanie Kate

Stompin

Black metal and ambient master Striborg will join forces with the Australian Art Orchestra for a blackwave extravaganza. Black metal collides with darkwave music, electronic influences and psychedelia. Plus guzheng, bass clarinet, trumpet and electric violin.

###### The Australian Art Orchestra are: Peter Knight (trumpet/laptop), Aviva Endean (clarinets/pedals), Mindy Meng Wang (guzheng Chinese zither) and Erkki Veltheim (electric violin/pedals)

Striborg + the Australian Art Orchestra

Percussion virtuoso—world renowned and one of our Artists in Residence. She’ll be popping up all over the shop with Bach, Reich, contemporary stuff, drums, and an enormous marimba—so large that Kuniko has to perform a kind of dance to play it.

###### Supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

###### Image: Michiyuki Ohba

Kuniko Kato

Plonk yourself in a bean bag in the grand old Albert Hall and soak up a repertoire of Finnish music—old and new, classical and some electronics—starring violinist extraordinaire Satu Vänskä and her 292-year-old instrument. She’ll be joined by repeat Mofos from the TSO.  

__Program details__  
Einojuhani Rautavaara, *Cantus Arcticus ‘Concerto for Birds and Orchestra’*  
Kaija Saariaho, … *de la terre*  
Jean Sibelius, *Violin Concerto*   

#### Conducted by Johannes Fritzsch  

###### Presented in partnership with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra  

###### Image: Ben Sullivan

Satu Vänskä + the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Your Zen soundtrack—Buddhist and Shinto music on the shakuhachi and taiko drums—courtesy of Ritchie and Ng.

Yyan Ng + Brian Ritchie

Mindy Meng Wang

A scuffle between kids’ dinosaur chairs, inflatable Zimmer frames, hot dog-shaped dog toys, and hosiery—frozen mid fight.

#### Curated by Emma Pike

Lou Hubbard

British composer and sound artist Nick Ryan and his team of engineering and space geniuses have built a machine that tracks the position of 27,000 pieces of space junk, and transforms them into sound as they pass overhead. The design of the machine is an homage to the Edison wax cylinder—the earliest recording technology.

###### Supported by the British Council


Nick Ryan

Take a map and go on a treasure hunt of sorts around the festival precinct. Along the route you’ll find a series of little see-through boxes with artworks, by local artists, therein.

Interweave Arts

Mulatu is a legend—the architect and elder statesman of an entire musical style, known as Ethiopian jazz. Expect traditional Ethiopian music fused with jazz sounds and Afro-Latin grooves, with an eight-piece Ethio-funk backing band.


Mulatu Astatke

Margie and friends make art on the move, using paintings tied to their bodies, dragged through the beating heart of this fine town and then put on display at Sawtooth ARI. The exhibition will also include a sound installation by local composer Dylan Sheridan (he’s going to rig the paintings with microphones and record the noise of their journey).

###### Presented in partnership with Sawtooth ARI

###### Image: Natalie Jenkins

Margie Livingston

From the Discwoman group and queer arts collective #KUNQ, New York-based Jamaican DJ and artist Shyboi comes to us fresh from the Boiler Room and the art parties of MoMA PS1 and the Guggenheim.

### Australian exclusive

Shyboi

Direct from Brisbane and with Fiji in her bones, this tough-as hip-hop legend asks that all the bad bitches please move to the front.

Jesswar

Celebrated Tassie producer of experimental electronica conspires with Faux Mo’s own J.R. Brennan for another no-drums collaboration.

Akouo

Queens across the board. Aurum is a fierce Launnie contemporary dance queen with more wigs than you can handle. MisTy is the kind of glamour girlfriend you get by mixing Lana Del Ray with the Apple Isle. Pussay is Lady Gaga’s Tasmanian twin but with more style. Kat is a glitter and rainbow pocket rocket, and Rosa is a killer queen and glamour villain—think Cruella de Vil meets Maleficent. Together they are beyond description (okay, clearly not literally beyond description but you know what we mean).

Aurum Argentum, Kat Daddi, MisTy DelRay, Pussay Poppins + Rosa Rita

The queens of dancehall join forces with first-rate collaborators from France and Jamaica.

Burncity Queenz + Silver Vice + Chuby Dice

Esteemed Launceston-based dance maker and experimental disco gypsy.

Cat Freeman

DJ Gemma’s been making people dance since the wee hours of the 80s, and is one of the co-founders of Club Kooky, Sydney’s original queer wonderland.

DJ Gemma

Tasmania’s homegrown DJ goddess will open the party on Friday night.

DJ Rainbow Trout

Resident club philosopher, activist, and purveyor of banging dance music for the outsider inside you.

DJ Sezzo

Launceston skater, dreamer, and make-up genius.

Dylan Kirkhope

Abrasive post-punk four-piece with a ferocious live show and highlights from their EP _Bitch Rising_.

Hexdebt

The pioneers of psychedelic Saharan desert rock will do a special late-night set alongside Tasmanian performance artist Anand Kumar. 

Les Filles de Illighadad + ANAND KUMAR

Sister act Dijok and Teejae bring their tandem bashment and dancehall sounds to the party for the best back-to-back ever.

Sound and energy assault from saxophonist Kirsty Tickle and renowned multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Boulet. They’re here with their breakthrough release, _Living Man_.

Party Dozen

Serving contemporary dance infused with transcendental ritual practice.

Sinsa Mansell

Over twenty years of activism and LGBTIQ artistry. Tas Pride and the Diversity Launceston community are here to keep it real.

Tas Pride + Diversity Launceston

Small town, big dick.  
Late-night festival party, extra fries.

The queen of Afro-Portuguese club music, direct from Lisbon’s so-hot-right-now record label Príncipe Discos. An Australian first.
 
### Australian exclusive


Nídia

Alien superstar DJ with the crème de la crème of futuristic trap, hip-hop, and ghetto house. The Taipei-based producer has collaborated with Skrillex, and recently graced the stages at Glastonbury, SXSW, Tomorrowland and Ultra Music Festival.

DJ RayRay

Visual artist Theia Connell’s disco-infused electronica will open the party on Saturday night. 

Act Natural

Feminist, post-hardcore punk from Sydney’s dirtiest stages.

Canine

In the vein of their brutal Boiler Room sets, powerhouse duo group A will be joined on stage by local Tasdance heroes.

group A + Tasdance

South African queer pop marvel (and friend to Madonna) Nakhane will resuscitate 80s Australian hits with local divas DENNI and Medhanit Barratt.

Nakhane + DENNI + Medhanit Barratt

Neneh Cherry

These fierce Tassie punk heroines will bring their loudest, grimiest hooks for all and sundry to thrash along to.

Slag Queens

Founder of Melbourne’s legendary I Heart Dancehall parties and now local Tasmanian. She’s here to teach us how to party Caribbean-style.

So Fire

Sonja, Karlin and Bruce perform improvised, experimental music on invented leather instruments, percussion, and a fleshy, theremin-inspired instrument made from SCOBY: imagine a skin-like slab of homegrown bacteria, wired to electronics, and then stroked and prodded to produce sound. Catch their set performances, or join in as they roam around the festival precinct with the SCOBY.

Sonja Hindrum + Karlin Love + Bruce Innocent

Swedish icon and Massive Attack collaborator Neneh Cherry brings us soulful, simmering electronic pop and R&B.

###### Image: Wolfgang Tillmans

Interlocking laser beams envelop you in a cavern of articulated light, and sound: the installation taps, and allows you to ‘listen’ to, the voltages that determine the behaviour of light in space.

###### Image: Bruno Destombes

Robin Fox

A monumental meditation on humankind, after Rodin’s famous bronze sculpture *The Thinker*. Parer Studio’s *Man* reflects on who we have become, our place in the world, and the big questions we ponder in the twenty-first century. It lights up at night, too.

###### Commissioned in Australia by Mona Foma

Parer Studio

Onesie World Workshops

Mass onesie extravaganza, back by popular demand. Turn up wearing last year’s vintage, or make your own: Australian artist and designer Adele Varcoe has teamed up with Finnish clothing label Self-Assembly to create over 2000 DIY onesies (no sewing machines required).

__Make your onesie ahead of time:__  
__Sunday 13 January, 1–5pm__  
__Monday 14–Thursday 17 January, 5–9pm__  
School of Creative Arts, Launceston  
You’ll need to register and have a Three Day Festival Ticket to attend  
### [Register](https://tickets.mofo.net.au/auxiliary/PSDetail.aspx?psn=35842&kw=238)

Adele Varcoe + Self-Assembly

Soma: Sound or Music Architecture. Or: Step Onboard, Make Art. Or: Something Other than Mediocre Architecture. We’re not sure yet as it hasn’t been built.
 
We asked the UTAS architecture school to design and construct a mobile recording studio and performance space for us, to be unveiled at the festival and used throughout the year. Keep an eye out for it roaming the city, occupied by artists and filling Launnie’s urban landscape with sound.

###### Presented in partnership with the University of Tasmania, School of Architecture

Mona Foma Soma

The most isolated metal band in the world, from Santa Teresa in central Australia, home to the Arrernte people.

Southeast Desert Metal

Dreamy chamber pop from the City of Angels. Julia and band will grace us with tunes from her latest record, *Aviary*, which flits between medieval chamber music, jazzy rock, ballads, robotics and radical hope. Influences from Sappho, a Nepalese Buddhist nun, Saint Augustine and Joan of Arc.

###### Image: Dicky Bahto

Julia Holter

Tassie composer Dylan Sheridan brings us a hypnotic, automated performance—he calls it ‘sound theatre’—using hacked, rewired and repurposed domestic objects such as clocks, smoke alarms and a toaster.

###### Supported by Chamber Made through their Little Operations Development Program

Dylan Sheridan

Hip hop artist Fred Leone and experimental bassist Samuel Pankhurst mix ancient and contemporary sounds to tell stories of Fred’s people, who come from the Butchulla and Garawa tribes of north Queensland.

Yirinda

Get down and go off as electro pop darlings PNAU storm the stage with a wild dance party laced with lasers and rapturous bangers aplenty. Featuring a star turn from New York singer Kira Divine.

PNAU

If punk rock erupted not in the 1970s but in 1930s Poland on the brink of the horrors of the Second World War, it might’ve sounded a bit like Hańba!. Scandalous interwar poetry meets the Buzzcocks and the Clash. Punk fury with banjo, accordion, tuba and the occasional air raid siren.

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