Absurdist Road Signs Spark Conversation in Christchurch City Centre
In early December 2025, artist Cameron Hunt installed six spoof road signs around Christchurch city centre as part of the Little Street festival. These signs resemble official Christchurch City Council information boards but carry absurd and humorous messages such as "slight haunted but manageable," a walking speed limit of 2.83 km/h, and a simple sign that says "dont."
The project is an artwork rather than an official council initiative, aiming to challenge how authority and signage are perceived in public spaces. Each sign was created for a specific location throughout the city centre.
The signs have sparked public interaction, with people taking photos and sharing them online. Some social-media posts expressed initial confusion but soon clarified that the signs were tongue-in-cheek in nature.
Christchurch City Council supports the project, with Kiri Jarden describing the signs as delightful and endorsing the use of humor to engage passersby. Hunt hopes this artwork will spark curiosity and conversation about people’s surroundings in a way that other forms of urban art like murals or graffiti cannot.
