Birds and Guitars

I am a frequent visitor to the Barbican Centre and often head there after the Proudfoot office closes to catch a film and grab something to eat. Occasionally I’ll also visit to see something a bit less run of the mill: among the things I saw there last year were a spectacular one-off concert with Grizzly Bear (my lo-fi indie idols) featuring the London Philharmonic orchestra, and a screening of cult film “The Room” with commentary from comedians Graham Linehan and Peter Serofinowitz – another memorable experience, although for rather different reasons (the event was part of the Barbican’s “Bad Film Club”, so I’ll leave you to work out the rest…).

The Barbican is apparently the largest multi-arts centre in Europe and also plays host to art, theatre, dance and educational events. Not being much of a connoisseur in these fields I hadn’t thought to properly check out what else is on offer, but earlier this month I stumbled upon an “installation” in the Centre’s Curve gallery.

The entrance to the space tells you that held within is “a new commission for The Curve by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot”, and as you enter into darkness with strange ambient noises playing in the background, you’d be forgiven for wondering what on earth was going on. But as you get to the last quarter of the gallery (which is literally named after the shape of the space, a long semi-circular corridor), suddenly everything is illuminated and you are greeted by two things: birds and guitars.

Mr Boursier’s idea is remarkably simple: he has placed several electric guitars and a few cymbals on stands, hooked them up to amps, and filled the space with 40 zebra finches. The flock of finches use the guitars as perches, and the cymbals double as feeders, with piles of bird seed scattered over them. As the birds land on the instruments or occasionally pluck at the strings they create a unique and ever-changing sound.

He may have added a couple of effects, such as reverb and echo, but to my surprise, the resulting noise sounds remarkably musical. Boursier is a trained composer, and he is fascinated by the musicality of the sounds that surround us in everyday life. His previous works apparently include an installation of 13 vacuum cleaners which have harmonicas attached to their suction nozzles. He likes to orchestrate situations that will produce unusual sounds, but he wants to enable the sound to occur in a random and unaffected way. As you walk in between the instruments in the Curve you notice that your movements can also affect the birds behaviour, and on the two occasions I have visited the experience has felt and sounded completely different.

It is unclear if the birds know about their temporary rock-god status, but they seem pretty at home; on my second visit I noticed a couple of them trying to weave a nest between the strings of one of the guitars. They will be maintaining their residency for another couple of months yet, and entry is free, so I recommend paying a visit to the Barbican before these guys get signed and embark on a world tour.