Cameron Hunt, a local artist, has transformed the Christchurch city centre with six new signs as part of the Little Street art festival. These playful, thought-provoking installations are designed to startle and surprise passersby into thinking more critically about their environment. Hunt’s signs follow the style and format of official Christchurch City Council signage. They meld surrealism, music, and comedy, igniting a bizarre foment that immediately transforms into laughter.
The signs, evenly distributed around the city and titled in the aggregate “Christchurch city confusion,” have intrigued residents and tourists. One pedestrian headroom sign jokingly asks pedestrians to ensure they’re walking at a brisk pace of 2.83 km/h, another just says “don’t.” Of the most arresting, perhaps, is the sign hung on the fence around an abandoned house declaring it “slightly haunted but manageable.”
“It was so great to see how excited everyone is to engage with my work,” Hunt shared. “Watching people interact with the signs has been awesome,” he stated. More than anything else, he hopes that the signs will inspire people to stop and appreciate their surroundings in a different way.
“The idea was to make signs that look official, but with completely absurd messages, therefore creating moments of confusion, followed by little bursts of joy.” – Cameron Hunt
Kiri Jarden, the council’s principal adviser for community arts, was impressed by Hunt’s work, calling the signs “wonderful” and “truly delightful.” She emphasized the importance of humor in public art, stating, “We totally support artists using humour to gently interrupt and engage passersby.”
Hunt’s signs are making a splash around town. They’ve captured the imagination of social media, as picture after picture has appeared online showing the positive reception they’re receiving. The colorful signs that have appeared around town recently have created an art-focused treasure hunt of sorts. Locals and visitors alike are on the hunt for each temporary installation around the city center.
“Each piece is a small, interactive moment for people, sparking curiosity and conversation in a way that murals or graffiti cannot.” – Cameron Hunt