We commissioned multidisciplinary art and design studio Troika to create an artwork at the entrance to the British Airways Galleries Lounges at Heathrow Terminal 5. The resulting artwork, All the Time in the World, is a 22m long digital world clock that fuses art, engineering, graphic design and technology to create a visually stunning modular text display system with its own uniquely designed font. Troika constructed the work to be energy efficient by adapting Elumin8's electroluminescent lighting technology. All the Time in the World cleverly extends the notion of a world clock, commonly centred around capital cities in different time zones, by linking in real-time to places with exciting and romantic associations. Passengers and staff are invited to send their imaginations to distant locations: great natural wonders of the world, soaring mountain peaks, beautiful lakes, skyscrapers, ancient cities, famous museums filled with untold treasures, dream islands and exotic deserts. The visual layout of the clock adds to this remarkable design by reflecting the geographical position of the locations displayed. The heart of the clock is London's local time, GMT and any places to the west of London and displayed on the left face of the clock and equally, any places east of London are to the right. This marked the first time worldwide that a display system of this kind was implemented.
All the Time in the World was commissioned and curated for British Airways during an inspiring and long-standing relationship. Starting in 1996, BA had recognised the potential that art could play in its re-branding by increasing brand awareness and creating a new contemporary image for the company. Our aim for BA was to establish a series of long-term strategies and a programme of diverse artist-led initiatives that would incorporate the company's goals and engage both passengers and staff. These strategies needed to reflect the world-class status of the company and also demonstrate its innovation and leadership within the industry through art. Over the twelve-year period that we worked with British Airways we helped them to develop an impressive art collection that included over 1,500 works and over 60 special commissions, several of which have since been the recipients of esteemed industry awards.