Surreal century

"It's said that they were having dinner when a lobster shell accidentally fell on the telephone, and that inspired Dali to create the piece," Groom says, while guiding a tour at the preview of the exhibition on Feb 1.

"Personally, I don't believe it was true. But the idea of the story is that chance determines the work."

He explains how surrealists "put two things together and create a new reality".