John “Yayen” is a UK- and Philippines-registered nurse and contemporary artist whose work bridges care, creative practice, and cultural healing. His art explores the intersections of care, storytelling, environmental justice, and community resilience, using participatory and narrative-based approaches to foster connection and wellbeing.

Yayen’s practice is grounded in frontline experience in end-of-life and dementia care. His flagship project, Embers of Care, supported by Arts Council England, is an ongoing visual storytelling initiative that collaborates with NHS Trusts and institutions across the UK, and aims to produce 100 artworks highlighting migrant healthcare workers’ journeys, struggles and triumphs. His paintings are held in permanent collections at Cambridge University Hospitals, various NHS Hospitals, and the Royal College of Nursing.

Originally from Palawan, Philippines, Yayen has also co-founded grassroots art initiatives and and volunteered as nurse and lead designer to award winning charities, designed campaigns for global environmental organisations and small businesses, and served as a cultural heritage documenter for supported by the Philippine National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Now based in the UK, he is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society of Arts, he advocates for cross-sector collaboration, and creative health as a driver of systemic change.