LOUD, LIGHT AND ALL AT SEA

IF Bastiaan Maris’s Fire Organ wasn’t enough to show the people of Hobart that Dark Mofo is here, then Anthony McCall’s equally loud and bright Night Ship certainly is.

McCall, a British-born American avant-garde artist, is bringing his brand of light and fire art to Hobart with three exhibitions during Dark Mofo.

And one of the most daring is Night Ship, a 65ft Legend deep sea fishing vessel that projects a bright pencil-slim light beam as it sails from Taroona to MONA each night until June 21.

Its maiden trip was made last night to mark the start of the winter festival.

The vessel, also recognised by a distinct marine horn, will pass by Sandy Bay and make an approach to Hobart’s waterfront before travelling under the Tasman Bridge and finishing at MONA each night.

Throughout Dark Mofo, it will be visible from the Hobart waterfront between 7-7.30pm and at regular intervals a powerful halogen searchlight will perform horizontal sweeps to light up the nearby shoreline. Each circulation is announced by the marine horn.

Mr McCall said he has a passionate fascination with light works as an art form and got the idea for Night Ship while in Hobart. The work is a new commission.

“It has some qualities of a floating lighthouse, I’ve long been interested in lighthouses [but] I prefer not to get in the way of what people make of it, that’s part of the work for the spectator.”

The three-man crew will not welcome the public on board.

McCall’s other projects, both at Dark Park on Macquarie Point, include:

Solid Light Works: 10m high shifting light beams inside a warehouse (5-10pm).

Landscape For Fire: 1972 film of 36 containers of flammable material set in a grid and torched at dusk (4-10pm).

Both started last night and will run until June 21.