Ever spied this musical ceiling display at the V&A museum? Look closely and you'll notice that the floating brass section has been crushed. Perfect for playing a B Flat, perhaps.
Artist Cornelia Parker used a particularly imaginative technique to create the installation. She first acquired the neglected instruments from 'dusty back rooms of the British Legion, Salvation Army, collieries and other establishments'. She then used Tower Bridge to flatten the objects, employing a 22-ton accumulator from the bridge's hydraulic system. As the exhibit's label says: 'One Victorian institution literally knocked the wind out of another'.
You can find the art work, Breathless, half way through the British Galleries, where the radial pattern of the instruments resembles a giant Tudor rose. It caused quite a commotion when it was installed ten years ago.
