LONDON, ENGLAND.- The National Portrait Gallery presents Benjamin’s Britain, on view through September 10, 2006. In a unique display, poet and author Benjamin Zephaniah has brought together a group of photographs from the National Portrait Gallery and other sources, drawn from four themes that have particular personal meaning for him. These are: Brit Islam, photographs of British Muslims; Face Me, portraits of people with facial disfigurements; Punky Reggae Party, punk and reggae musicians from the 1970s and 1980s and Animals Like Me, portraits of animals. The photographs are accompanied by Zephaniah's poetry and text.

'I am a music lover, an animal lover and a people lover' says Zephaniah. 'In this exhibition I wanted to bring all my lovers into one space. I wanted visitors to get the themes, but then make it a bit like walking down a British street where you bump into a Muslim, you can bump into a pigeon, and you can bump into somebody with a facial disfigurement, or a musician.'

Expressing Zephaniah's passion for multiculturalism, Benjamin's Britain highlights the parallels the poet perceives between the way the Rasta community was demonised in the early eighties and how the British Muslim community is treated today. His interest in people with facial disfigurements stems from the research he conducted for his novel for young adults, Face, and his work with the charity Changing Faces of which he is a patron. The inclusion of musicians from the 1970s and 80s comes from Zephaniah's passion for 'hard music' and the portraits of animals from his militant veganism and disdain for seeing animals kept in cages.

Poet, musician, novelist and playwright, Benjamin Zephaniah grew up in Jamaica and Birmingham. He moved to London in 1979 and published his first poetry collection, Pen Rhythm, in 1980, which due to its popularity was reprinted in three editions. Zephaniah has written novels for teenagers and poetry for children, as well as producing a number of music recordings and plays. His radio play Listen to Your Parents, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000, won the Commission for Racial Equality Race in the Media Radio Drama Award and has since been adapted for the stage.

His most recent work includes We Are Britain! (2002), a collection of poems celebrating cultural diversity in Britain (poems from this collection are featured in Benjamin's Britain); Gangsta Rap (2004), a novel aimed at teenagers based on Zephaniah's own experiences in the music business; and his new album Naked/Naked and Mixed Up (2006), a collection of poetry performed over music.

Benjamin's Britain, curated by Benjamin Zephaniah, was originally created for Manchester Art Gallery as part of the National Portrait Gallery's National Programme. It was exhibited at the Manchester Art Gallery from 1 October - 8 January 2006, alongside the exhibition, Black Victorians, featuring the portrait of Mary Seacole, on loan to the National Portrait Gallery.