Théo Mercier to Bring Debris and Disaster to Mona

Théo Mercier b. 1984, France Follow +

French artist and stage director Théo Mercier will create a massive sand sculpture in the former library space at Mona in Hobart next year.

Depicting a landscape wreaked by disaster, DARK TOURISM will show from 15 February 2025 until 16 February 2026.

The work takes inspiration from the notion of ‘dark tourism’ in which people seek out places associated with crime, suffering, and death.

The term was popularised by journalist David Farrier’s 2018 Netflix series Dark Tourist, in which Farrier visits the personal prison of drug lord Pablo Escobar, explores a Japanese town abandoned during the Fukushima disaster, and experiences voodoo rites in Benin.

With DARK TOURISM, Mercier will create a scene suggestive of the wake of a hurricane, landslide, or tsunami.

Mona curator Sarah Wallace said, ‘Crafted entirely from Tasmanian sand, Théo’s work is a reminder of the fragile and temporary nature of the world around us, and of life itself. I hope visitors will be drawn in by the intricate detail in this captivating installation, while reflecting on the questions he raises about how we cope with catastrophe.’

Mercier said, ‘What does it mean to sculpt catastrophe, or to construct collapse? Like others who have painted ruins in the past, DARK TOURISM is about sculpting contemporary ruins, which are also natural disasters.’

‘Faced with this frozen landscape, humans find themselves at the heart of the devastation, as spectators and consumers,’ he continued. ‘But there’s something contradictory about this project, something romantic and utopian at the same time. Because the sand allows the world to tremble and shuffle itself in infinite figures.’ —[O]

Main image: Théo Mercier, Gut city punch (2023), French Pavillon, Prague Quadrennial 2023. Photo: Ondrej Pribyl.