Griff Rhys Jones' Ghanaian 'fantasy coffin'
27th Sep 2011 - 4th Dec 2011
Don�t miss the Ghanaian coffin in the form of television camera, which is the unusual focal point of a display in the Link about Ga art and culture.
 Griff Rhys Jones in the �fantasy coffin� at �Hello Design Coffins�Accra, 2010 |
 The �fantasy coffin�, 2011Photo: Pete Huggins, Camera Techniques |
 Daniel Mensah Oblie, 2011Photo: Paulette Lee |
The coffin, which is remarkably realistic despite its scale, was specially created last year for Griff Rhys Jones as part of the BBC television series Hidden Treasures of Africa. It will be the first time since the television programme was broadcast that the �fantasy coffin� can be seen by the general public.
The display will make links with African objects in the Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, and in the spirit of that collection, shows that art can be found in all manner of objects. It will give you insight into Ga religious beliefs and associated rites and rituals, as well as providing you with further information about representational coffin design in Accra.
Admission free
�At the age of fifty seven I wasn't expecting to have to buy my own coffin. We wanted to film the whole procedure for a programme for BBC 2, so I coughed up and now possess my own camera-casket in waiting. Given that I don't currently have an urgent requirement for it I hope everybody can share in the exuberance of a culture that creates such great stuff. I felt privileged to have Daniel Mensah interpret the general tenor of my own career. Too much time before the camera and an eternity inside it. Very apt, some might say� � Griff Rhys Jones, television presenter.
