Fernando do Campo

Did you know that the laughing kookaburra was introduced to Tassie when Launceston was establishing a colonial zoo? The council exchanged the bird from mainland zoos for thylacine puppies. This was around the turn of the nineteenth century, when the bird was called a ‘laughing jackass’. Nowadays, the laugh of the kookaburra is a patriotic, yet alien, element of our island’s soundtrack. Part protest, part laughing circle, Fernando and his group of performers will present a series of absurd interventions into public city spaces in dialogue with the kookaburra.

The work will move around Launceston, but here's where you're likely to catch it:
Friday 17: Royal Park, 9.30–10.30am
Saturday 18: Harvest Market, Launceston Mall + Civic Square, 9.30–10.30am
Sunday 19: Harvest Market + City Park, 11.30am–12.30pm

Presented by Mona Foma and Contemporary Art Tasmania

The Kookaburra Self-Relocation Project has been assisted by Create NSW, UNSW Art + Design and the Australia Council for the Arts