Julian Lennon: “Behind the camera I could be anybody, which is what makes me happy”
After enjoying success as a pop singer in the MTV era, Julian Lennon has since focused much of his attention on other fields, including photography. A small exhibition drawn from his book Life’s Fragile Moments has just opened at the Leica Gallery in Prague, a city he has visited repeatedly. I spoke to Lennon at a press preview.
Many of our listeners will know you from your hits back in the day. When did you first start doing photography, alongside music?
“There were a few occasions that made the move, or at least the interest in photography, more apparent.
“One was the advent of the Polaroid SX-70 camera, where you saw the images immediately after you took them, so that excited me.
“Another was my dear friend Timothy White, who’s one of the world’s best celebrity photographers.
“He saw some of my work and suggested I do a show. So I did my first show, in New York, and to my surprise it was a great success.
“The third thing was I have a [conservation] foundation called the White Feather Foundation. And when I used to go on work trips for the foundation – to Kenya, to Ethiopia, to South America – I would take photographs to catalogue what was going on, so that I could remember things.
“But I noticed the more I started taking pictures, the more I focused on the storytelling, what was important.
“And it was from those experiences that I started putting collections together – and that really was the key thing that set me on the path to being a visual artist.”
Around us here in this room there are lots of photos of rock musicians. I presume that’s a world in which you are 1,000 percent at home?
“To be honest with you, I’m not entirely sure. I’m a terribly anxious and nervous person. I have been in the past.
“So I would have to build my strength up, and my demeanour, to be able to deal… even with an interview like this; this morning I would have a little anxiety.
“I can do the showman thing, the jazz hands, but it’s another side of me that I have to work on.
“But in regards to other people, what it does allow me to do is to understand the sensitivity of other artists.
“So I’m able to respect them and how they feel – I try to be a fly on the wall and to not be in their face.”
Are you less shy behind a camera?
“Yeah [laughs]. I mean, behind the camera I could be anybody, which is what makes me happy.”
You connected with the Leica Gallery because you have a friend in Prague. Does that mean you have spent a lot of time here? And if so, what have your experiences been?
“I’ve spent a few occasions here. I think the city is beautiful.
“When I first came here, maybe 15 or 20 years ago, I remember it not being so great because of the bachelor parties and the hen parties and the English reprobates running around half-naked, so drunk it was obnoxious.
“It was horrible, even for an English person [laughs].
“But since I’ve been back I’ve been astonished at how the place has cleaned up.
“There are far more incredibly great restaurants, local and otherwise.
“I love walking and for me this is very much a walking city. I can get around, I can enjoy the place immensely.
“I think the architecture is beautiful. It has a lot to offer.
“And I’m thankful I have a friend here, because it gives me more of a reason to come back.”
Julian Lennon: Mosaic
Leica Gallery
Školská 28, Prague 1
Until 13.9.2026
