When Pigs Fly

'When Pigs Fly' is an open-air digital installation of Ambiguous Standards of Time that challenges the viewers to question their perception of time.

Designed by Dr Avsar Gurpinar (School of Design and Creative Arts) and Dr Cansu Curgen-Gurpinar (School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering) the public artwork is a collection of LED signs that display messaging of ambiguous expressions that challenges the viewers to question their perception of repetition. 

Located in one of the busiest spots in Kabata艧, Istanbul, messaging that appears and disappears on the screens includes phrases such as ‘before it’s too late’, ‘in the blink of an eye’, and ‘ever since I could remember’, and the LED screens represent the fleeting fragments of time.

The installation forms part of a long-term project, the Ambiguous Standards Institute (ASI), and in and interview with Turkish journal, Unlimited Rag they explain that:

ASI was established in 2014 to investigate expressions indicating a measure in everyday life with ambiguous definitions and quantitative equivalents. Ambiguous standards determine almost everything, from nutrition to music, from health to transportation, and from our perception of time to our modes of communication. The Institute is a semi-fictional institution that investigates the standards in various parts of life and the world, sometimes in obvious and sometimes in hidden forms.

Read the full interview and find out more about the project on the Unlimited Rag website.