Professor Benjamin Zephaniah

Born in Birmingham, Benjamin Zephaniah was a writer, poet, musician, and professor of poetry and creative writing. He was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.  He has written and published many books and poems, and was a vegan and animal rights activist.

Professor Zephaniah’s body is made from an Everest typewriter, the same make and model he started writing on at 11 years old. His own was donated to the Birmingham Museums Trust. The type keys have been suspended from a rod to depict the musical nature of his dub poetry. The 16 vegetable chopping boards not only represent some of the many books Zephaniah has written but also his Rastafari beliefs and veganism. To go with his book Talking Turkey I made a turkey from a bean slicer and steamer. I have made Anansi, a folktale character associated with stories, wisdom, and knowledge, from Jamaican maracas, old letters and the top of an African carved rain stick. Anansi was one of Zephaniah's influences.

Components:

1956 Everest typewriter

1960’s Underwood typewriter

16 recycled wooden vegetable chopping boards

1960’s Bean slicer

1960’s Vegetable steamer

1970’s Jamaican Maracas

1990’s Brown Cafetiere

2020’s Recycled ethernet cable