The music of the birds

No, that is not a misspelling. I really meant to write "the birds", not "The Byrds", who were a famous group in the 1960s. This story begins three years ago in London, where I had gone to learn more about James Bond. One evening, while taking a short break from drinking 007-style vodka martinis, I went to the Barbican Arts Centre and spent two hours at an exhibition titled "Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now". It was very cleverly marketed as "over-18s only", and I was.

Anyway, I was reminded of all that when an e-mail from the Barbican arrived in my inbox yesterday. It was about a new exhibition created by the French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot. He has given 40 zebra finches a selection of Gibson Les Paul guitars. As the birds peck at the strings, they create live, improvised music, which is then played throughout The Curve gallery at the Barbican. The exhibition continues until Sunday, 23 May. Entrance is free. Under-18s are especially welcome.