May Pang at the White Feather: Spirit of Lennon opening

Rare photos of John Lennon by Essential author May Pang are currently on show in Liverpool. The exhibition, entitled White Feather: The Spirit of Lennon, has been put together by Lennon’s first wife Cynthia and son Julian and it provides a uniquely intimate insight into the life of the Lennon family .

May Pang (right) with John Lennon's first wife Cynthia (left) and son Julian (middle).

May Pang (right) with John Lennon's first wife Cynthia (left) and son Julian (middle).

May Pang’s images, taken from her book Instamatic Karma, look great blown up large – as May’s snaps from her trip to Liverpool for the exhibition opening (below) show. Each picture has been reproduced at a massive 20″ × 30″ (roughly 50cm × 75cm).

As readers of the book will know, May Pang was Yoko Ono’s assistant. Instructed to keep John happy, Pang developed a very close relationship with the Beatles star. Her photographs capture him in locations from New York to Los Angeles and the Nevada desert, with friends including Harry Nilsson, Elton John, and Ringo Starr. There are also charming images of Lennon playing with the young Julian.

White Feather: Spirit of London is on at the Beatles Story Pier Head, within Liverpool’s sparkling new Mersey Ferries terminal. The show runs until the end of December. For full details, see the exhibition website. For more of May’s pictures, see her MySpace page or browse prints available for purchase.

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Where May goes, her camera follows. Here she is at the family home of original Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe.

Where May goes, her camera follows. Here she is at the family home of original Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe.