Pigs are flying in Chicago — or at least, if all goes according to a plan developed by New World Design Ltd. The design firm has proposed an inspired solution for Windy City dwellers frustrated by the looming eyesore of the Chicago River Trump Tower: blocking the President-elect’s name with four “gaudy” inflatable swine. “The 20′ tall sign has been contentious since it was installed in 2014,” read a press statement from NWD, “Trump has rejected removal or modifications, so the folly provides a partial blockage of the sign’s visual noise.”
It’s a clear homage to Pink Floyd’s Animals album sleeve, which features a pig floating above an industrial landscape. Originally designed by surrealist record art legends Hipgnosis, the cover shoot for Animals has a notorious backstory: on the second day of shooting, a gust of wind sent the 40-foot pig balloon flying into the ether, leading to the cancellation of many flights at nearby Heathrow airport. The pig has since been spotted everywhere from the V&A Museum to Oldchella. NWD encourages viewers to listen to the politically-charged album, which features lyrics such as “big man, pig man… ha ha, charade you are,” in order to “make their own interpretations.”
In addition to the ubiquitous English prog-rock band, the design firm cites Trump’s comparison of former Miss Universe Alicia Machado to Miss Piggy among the folly’s key inspirations. The pigs will be facing east, toward Washington DC, in case the weather conditions of the Animals cover shoot repeat themselves.
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Photo via New World Design Ltd.