Théo Mercier, French artist and stage director, is set to begin construction on an immense sand sculpture that will inhabit Mona's former library space. Created in situ from sand and water, DARK TOURISM will depict a debris-strewn landscape evoking the aftermath of disaster. It opens for viewing in February 2025.

Mona's owner and founder David Walsh says: ‘When Théo was last in Hobart he said he was “going for a walk.” He walked to the top of kunanyi. He’s back, and he’ll be doing something just as mad at Mona.’

Mercier’s site-specific installation is a new work commissioned by Mona and its presentation is his first time exhibiting in Australia. It takes inspiration from the notion of ‘dark tourism’: our human propensity to seek out and travel to places associated with suffering and death. Tourists have long made visits to sites charged with history’s grim residue, from Pompeii to Auschwitz, the catacombs of Paris to the Cambodian killing fields, Hiroshima to Ground Zero, and Tasmania’s Port Arthur.

DARK TOURISM is also a commentary on Earth’s changing climate and its impact on the environment and humanity. Visitors to Mona will witness a scene reminiscent of the wake of a hurricane, landslide or tsunami.

Mona curator Sarah Wallace says: ‘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.’

Théo Mercier says: ‘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. 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.’

Théo Mercier: DARK TOURISM will run at Mona from Saturday 15 February 2025 until Monday 16 February 2026. It is curated by Sarah Wallace and Jarrod Rawlins, and commissioned by Olivier Vare

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