A Photographic Life-343: A Conversation with Musician, Photographer and Author Julian Lennon

In this special episode Grant Scott speaks with Julian Lennon. In a broad ranging conversation they discuss photography, truth, the documentation of memories and the importance of friends and travel to creativity. Julian Lennon is a musician, photographer, author, philanthropist and the son of John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia. Lennon started his music career in 1984 with the album Valotte, and has released six further albums. He has held exhibitions of his photography and written several children's books. In 2006, Lennon produced the environmental documentary film Whaledreamers, which won eight international awards. In 2007, he founded The White Feather Foundation (TWFF), whose stated mission goal is to address "environmental and humanitarian issues". In 2020, he was executive producer of the Netflix documentary Kiss the Ground concerning regenerative agriculture and the follow-up film Common Ground. In 2022, Lennon was executive producer of the documentary film Women of the White Buffalo, which chronicles the lives of women living on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. After photographing his half-brother Sean's music tour in 2007, Lennon developed a serious interest in photography. In 2010, his exhibition of 35 photographs called Timeless: The Photography of Julian Lennon with help from long-time friend and fellow photographer Timothy White was held at the Morrison Hotel Gallery, New York. His Alone collection was featured at the Art Basel Miami Beach Show in 2012, and his Horizon series was featured at the Emmanuel Fremin Gallery, New York in 2015. Lennon's Cycle exhibit was featured at the Leica Gallery in Los Angeles, in 2016. In 2023, he showed a series of photographs titled ATMOSPHERIA at the William Turner Gallery in Santa Monica, California. A book of his photographs Life's Fragile Moments was published in 2024. https://julianlennon.com https://julianlennon-photography.com Mentioned in this episode: https://www.marsilioarte.it/en/events-and-exhibitions/whispers-a-julian-lennon-retrospective/ https://www.teneues.com/en/book/lifes-fragile-moments https://whitefeatherfoundation.com https://www.instagram.com/julespicturepalace/ https://www.instagram.com/julianlennonphotography/ https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/eclectic24/eclectic-24 Image credit: Julian Lennon by Marilyn Clark Dr.Grant Scott After fifteen years art directing photography books and magazines such as Elle and Tatler, Scott began to work as a photographer for a number of advertising and editorial clients in 2000. Alongside his photographic career Scott has art directed numerous advertising campaigns, worked as a creative director at Sotheby’s, art directed foto8 magazine, founded his own photographic gallery, edited Professional Photographer magazine and launched his own title for photographers and filmmakers Hungry Eye. He founded the United Nations of Photography in 2012, and is now a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography (Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate) at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, and a BBC Radio contributor. Scott is the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019), and What Does Photography Mean To You? (Bluecoat Press 2020). His photography has been published in At Home With The Makers of Style (Thames & Hudson 2006) and Crash Happy: A Night at The Bangers (Cafe Royal Books 2012). His film Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay was premiered in 2018. Scott continues to work as a photographer, writer and filmmaker and is the Subject Coordinator for both undergraduate and post graduate study of photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England. Scott’s book Inside Vogue House: One building, seven magazines, sixty years of stories, Orphans Publishing, is now on sale. © Grant Scott 2024