Jon Rees

Last week, we were delighted to attend the opening of an exhibition organised by Paddington Green Healthcare Centre, which shared photographs taken by previous participants of our Changing Perspectives photography course for people living with chronic pain. Changing Perspectives is a course designed and facilitated by artist @iamjonrees , which supports participants to explore how photography can be used to improve our wellbeing, mental health, and connections with others and the world around us. This exhibition includes photographs by participants across three cohorts. The photographs on display speak to their experiences, their resilience, and the ways in which photography has resourced and inspired them, within and beyond taking part in the course. Paddington Green Healthcare Centre and @centrallondonhealthcare have been key partners on this project. In addition to referring many of the participants who have taken part, the team do vital work supporting people living with chronic pain, providing tailored healthcare support and facilitating peer support spaces. We were delighted to celebrate with the artists, colleagues and partners. A huge thank you to all who made this event happen, and congratulations to all of the artists involved! Image credit: @mo.sayyar

I’ve been gripped to this Scissor lift like a bird of prey, clamped on, rigid with fear, sweating, head swirling, my nervous system convinced that I’m gonna die every time it’s swayed in the wind or with the movement of the paint roller pushing against the wall. I didn’t even consider my fear of heights when I took on this job, by far the biggest mural I’ve ever undertaken. I’d forgotten childhood experiences of playgrounds, diving boards, seaside piers with gaps that showed the crashing waves below. Dizziness when crossing railway bridges, my general distrust of man made structures in the air. So this job has taken me on a journey back to those experiences, back to nurturing that small child stuck up the ladder at my uncles house, frozen to the spot, unable to let go, to move up or down - full of shame. But on this lift I’ve been given empathy and gentle encouragement and even been referred to a hypno-therapist. The job is inadvertently helping me to face a fear that could be a real barrier to more work of this kind and I’ve always dreamed of painting on this scale, of taking out the sides of buildings, of filling enormous public spaces with art. So onwards and upwards slowly rising above my comfort, soothing Little Jon all the way, repeating the mantra of I’m perfectly safe, breathing, deeply relaxing my muscles, activating the parasympathetic nervous system and gently making friends with the fear with the help of all the good people around me @kindredstudiosartists I’m so grateful to not work in a world of bravado, piss-taking and oneupmanship, to have to bury my fears and feelings because of pride and competitiveness. I’m so grateful to work in an environment where kindness, encouragement and support are the norm. Thank you to everyone who’s been there for me. Special mentions to @ameliarosenell for being my assistant and trauma therapist 😂. @lisa.dredge for the rapid hypnotherapy recommendation. Iwona for being the rescue team when I got stuck up there 10 times a day. @mrdavidblack for painting the top when I couldn’t and @maisiecowell whose beautiful design I painted. Now, anyone got a tower block that needs painting?

Really looking forward to working on these workshops with the amazing @harriethoult . We will experiment with a range of materials and approaches including paint, drawing, spray paint and photography, using simple prompts to spark ideas and encourage exploration. The workshops will take place across the indoor studio and garden spaces at Kindred Studios. Sign up with the link in my bio #ExploringCreativity #CreativeWorkshops

Some of my favourite wanderings of 2025 #wanderings #exploring #adventures

I heard on the radio that homelessness increased by 8% in the last year!! I was asked to shoot these in summer 2024 for @connection_homeless They were for a publicity campaign that highlighted that Christmas is not the only time that people experiencing homelessness need help and support, hence we walked around central London with Santa on a midsummer day. The poor guy was sweating his snowballs off! The Connection at St Martins-in-the-fields do amazing work offering all kinds of support to people that are in crisis. I’m planning to do more photography sessions with their clients early next year. #homelessness #london

Last Christmas @‌kindredstudiosartists which tured out to be our last Christmas in Shepherds Bush. 20 years earlier I spent my last Christmas in the very same building (then Market Lane homeless hostel) before going into rehab and getting clean. The contrast of these two situations could not have been greater. In 2004, I never could’ve imagined that moments like this could be possible. #santa #lastchristmas @kindredstudiosartists #community

A few shots from @kindredstudiosartists former home over the years. I do really miss this magical place, especially the graffiti wall but I’m so grateful for all the memories we created there and the ones I was able to make peace with #throwback #reflection #artistlife

Whilst rummaging through my #Procreate archive I found various designs from over the years that either didn’t get painted or posted

This is Angelique @angeliquepics the founder of @kindredstudiosartists It’s hard to put into words how much of an impact she has had on my life but I am so incredibly grateful that our paths crossed when they did. #artcommunity #community #inspiration

Last week’s awesome ‘Kintsugi’ workshop with Claire @dotty_by_design . I managed to imperfectly put back together a pot which was broken by a stray football (of ours) in my neighbours garden. It was handpainted by her late husband so it felt important to spend some time repairing it creatively. ‘Kintsugi’ translates as ‘joining with gold’ (kin = gold, tsugi = join) which kind of sums up what happens in the community at @kindredstudiosartists

Yesterday was studio visit day and we had the privilege of hearing from Jon Rees – photographer, graffiti artist, and community arts facilitator. 
Through his courses, Griefitti and Changing Perspectives, Jon uses art and photography to help people open up, connect, and heal. 🎨🧠 Jon’s personal journey as an artist is super interesting too. He shared how one intimidating interaction on the street forced him to shift his path, leading him instead to explore his Romany heritage with a focus on the rituals, and the connection with other spiritual and religious icons. The common thread throughout all Jon’s work is intense colour, reds oranges and yellows like the light hope and fire in Jon himself. There were so many takeaways from this talk — thank you @iamjonrees for sharing your amazing journey with us. #artheals #graffitiartists #studiovisit #artistcommunity

This is from a couple of years ago on Portobello. I can’t believe it’s survived 2 carnivals! This was commissioned by @westway_trust for their #everybreathwetake project aimed at raising awareness of air pollution and its devastating effects on inner city communities like ours. This is round the corner from my house and it’s lovely to have Sandie and the kids appear in the timelapse. The characters were designed by the amazing @brainsparkgames (check them out!) with the view to them being brought to life through augmented reality, something I’d love to do more of. #portobello #breath #change #graffiti