I’d say no musical instruments were harmed in creating this sculpture, but they were. At least they weren’t currently being used..

“Breathless” is the creation of British artist Cornelia Parker. When I saw it in 2024, it was hanging in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

These surplus horns, acquired from the British Legion and the Salvation Army were then flattened using the hydraulic system at the Tower Bridge. I’m trying to get my head around what sort of mind it takes to think of doing that. Most of us would probably just use a sledgehammer.

For the artist the installation is a reflection on duality, including light/dark, silence/noise and a bunch of others, including death and resurrection. Certainly the idea of unused instruments is pause for reflection.

Cornelia Parker sees her creation as a ghostly last gasp of the British Empire. I can see the metaphor – but that isn’t what I took from it.

The brass band was a mainstay of the Salvation Army from the time of its founding in the 19th century. Brass bands were a big thing back then. Now not so much.

Times change, forms of Christian expression evolve. But the message of the Gospel remains timeless.