Blind men and black cats

If you want quirky and thoughtful modern art, the ICA always delivers. A huddle of teddy bears in a corner, thirty four small photographs of different types of strawberries, and a large structure built out of so many materials - from wood to wool - that it looks like it could be an entry in one of those mad-cap flying day competitions. Somehow all these random pieces are related too. By the longest exhibition title in the world.

"For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat which isn't there" is the show's name. It's from a quote attributed to Charles Darwin. He was mocking the mathematician's inability to describe the physical world in anything but abstract terms. Taking that as its basis, the exhibition is dedicated to the playfulness of being in the dark. The not knowing. Anything goes basically, which sounds like fun.

As Alan, the smiley Scottish gallery assistant pointed out, the exhibition is what you think it is. How very ICA. Everyone sees something different depending on how curious and playful your approach, he told me. I, for instance, didn't notice the google map image embedded in the flying structure (unnamed by Dave Hullfish Bailey) until Alan drew my attention to it. While the heap of teddy bears shows how animals relate to each other.

Perhaps I wasn't feeling very playful as I'd just been drenched in ice cold rain. A visit to the ICA rarely disappoints though. Slightly baffled and bemused, I headed to the cool cafe (one of my favourites) for a cuppa. It may not be very abstract, but you know where you are with a cup of tea.

For the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat which isn't there is free and runs until Sunday 31 January at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.