THIS IS MY STORY BOTH HUMBLE AND TRUE, ILLUSTRATIONS FROM 1968-1979 – JOHN LENNON

PRESS RELEASE (in Finnish)

The exhibition showcasing John Lennon’s (1940–1980) graphic art provides a fresh perspective on the legendary musician’s life and persona. Lennon studied visual arts at the Liverpool College of Art from 1957 to 1960, and later, his collaboration with Yoko Ono brought him close to the international Fluxus movement. During the 1970s, Lennon participated in several Fluxus-related events and also appeared in Yoko Ono’s experimental films. In the 1960s, Lennon published three books—In His Own Write, A Spaniard In The Works, and Skywriting By Word of Mouth—which included both stories and drawings.

John Lennon was primarily interested in drawing. He sketched impulsive, illustrative depictions of everyday moments, often inspired by his daily life with his wife Yoko Ono and son Sean. Alongside autobiographical themes, his works reflect Lennon’s enduring messages of peace and love. The exhibition features series such as This Is My Story Both Humble And True, Dakota Days, and Karuizawa Series, which consist of posthumously printed lithographs and serigraphs based on Lennon’s original drawings.

The exhibition also includes The Bag One portfolio, a collection of lithographs created by Lennon in 1969 as a wedding gift for Yoko Ono. This series depicts various scenes, such as their wedding ceremony in Gibraltar and the widely publicized Bed-In for Peace event held in Amsterdam in 1969. The portfolio was first exhibited in London in 1970, but the show was shut down by Scotland Yard due to the inclusion of erotic prints. Today, The Bag One portfolio is part of collections such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The exhibition and its accompanying publication have been organized by Bag One Arts Inc. from New York. The exhibition is on display in 1994–95 at the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, the Reykjavik Art Museum, the Henie-Onstad Art Centre in Oslo, and the Pori Art Museum.