Lennon honored with artwork showing him in yellow submarine

U2 singer Bono and guitarist the Edge joined Yoko Ono and various dignitaries on Ellis Island on Wednesday for New York City’s inaugural John Lennon Day.

The 24-feet by 10-feet tapestry depicts Manhattan as a yellow submarine with Lennon as its captain waving a peace sign.

The Amnesty global event marked the 40th anniversary of Lennon receiving his green card, and was held on an island well-known as an immigration station for those seeking entry into the US. It was commissioned as a gift for Ono on behalf of Amnesty global, to thank her for her work for the group; apparently, they have raised $5 million from royalty fees of Lennon’s post-Beatles output since 2004.

Speaking in the presence of the former Beatle’s widow Yoko Ono, Bono evoked the famous image of Lennon holding up his two fingers in a peace sign on Ellis Island with the Statue of Liberty behind him.

Bono also “claimed” Lennon as an Irishman.

She said: “This is a very happy moment for the family”. He didn’t sail across the Atlantic in an ocean liner or a yellow submarine.

According to IrishCentral.com he described Lennon as “one more Irish immigrant on an island full of Irish immigrants”, and added: “Let’s claim him”.

“I started to get frustrated because people started to say, “Well, he was The Beatles”.

Lennon who is originally from Liverpool, England, appeared in several deportation hearings in the early 1970s. He initially was not granted U.S. residency, but that decision was overturned in 1975. He was really, really concerned about what’s happening in the world, and he knew that what we do in America is really going to affect the whole world.

Ono serves as an executive producer and is collaborating with her son, Sean Lennon, Death Cab for Cutie, Tune-Yards, and Cibo Matto, as well as other artists.