Multitudes across a life

A therapist once told me about the Integrated Self - a vast room of chairs for every version of a person - and warned that you can never assemble the whole. The idea has kept coming back. It surfaced in an improvisation scene with Keith Johnstone, where Steve Chapman played me at sixteen and asked what lay ahead. It surfaced again in psychiatric hospital, where I made hundreds of pictures of myself trying to work out what was happening. And it turned into a way of drawing other people beside their younger selves - Ben Akers with the boy his father once touched on the shoulder, Salwa Emerson sitting close to her thirteen-year-old, NJ’s father appearing three times on a single page, and a drawing after Saul Steinberg, who cut out a life-sized boyhood photograph of himself and stood holding its hand. Not multitudes across a room. Multitudes across a life.-Contain Multitudes Burgh House, New End Square, Hampstead NW3 1LT, 18-23 August 2026. Entry free. Private view (evening of 18 Aug) is a thank-you to backers of A Speccy Man Has A Breakdown.Links Read the piece: https://flintoff.org/multitudes-across-a-life Show homepage, unfolding one portrait at a time: https://flintoff.org/contain-multitudes Ben Akers: https://flintoff.org/ben-akers Salwa Emerson: https://flintoff.org/salwa-emerson NJ’s father: https://flintoff.org/nj-father After Steinberg: https://flintoff.org/after-steinberg Jo Wood and Steve Chapman: https://flintoff.org/jo-wood-and-steve-chapman A Speccy Man Has A Breakdown: https://flintoff.org/speccy-breakdown

The story behind Contain Multitudes, my portrait show at Burgh House, Hampstead, 18-23 August 2026. It begins with a drawing exercise at The School of Life, then a commission from a priest in Hampstead, then Zoom portraits during lockdown (including Olivia Colman), then a run of visits to independent publishers, lawyers, teachers and writers in the rooms where they work. In January 2024 I drew The Times’s obituary page for Camila Batmanghelidjh. That felt like a hinge - the journalist and the portrait-maker meeting on the same page.Contain Multitudes Burgh House, New End Square, Hampstead NW3 1LT 18-23 August 2026. Entry free. Private view (evening of 18 Aug) is a thank-you to backers of A Speccy Man Has A Breakdown.Links Read the piece: https://flintoff.org/the-arc-behind-this-show Show homepage, unfolding one portrait at a time: https://flintoff.org/contain-multitudes Be Drawn: https://flintoff.org/be-drawn Sort Of artist in residence: https://flintoff.org/sort-of-artist-in-residence The party you never leave: https://flintoff.org/the-party-you-never-leave A Speccy Man Has A Breakdown: https://flintoff.org/speccy-breakdown

Portrait of Mary Ann Sieghart, journalist, broadcaster and author of The Authority Gap, in her Wiltshire office, from Contain Multitudes at Burgh House.The pictures in the show come from a run of visits I’ve made over the past few years to people in the places where they work: writers at their desks, lawyers in their offices, publishers among the books they’ve made, a priest in the room where she thinks. Some of the sitters are old friends. Some I met for the first time on the day.

Portrait of Revd Dr Ayla Lepine, priest and art historian at St James's Piccadilly, from Contain Multitudes at Burgh House, London, by John-Paul Flintoff.The pictures in the show come from a run of visits I’ve made over the past few years to people in the places where they work: writers at their desks, lawyers in their offices, publishers among the books they’ve made, a priest in the room where she thinks. Some of the sitters are old friends. Some I met for the first time on the day.

Patrick McCann, days from retiring at Linklaters, drawn three times in an emptying office. Then he took another job. From Contain Multitudes, a series of portraits I'm showing in a gallery in Hampstead. The pictures in the show come from a run of visits I’ve made over the past few years to people in the places where they work: writers at their desks, lawyers in their offices, publishers among the books they’ve made, a priest in the room where she thinks. Some of the sitters are old friends. Some I met for the first time on the day.

In this first episode of a new series, John-Paul Flintoff introduces his book "Through the Eye of a Needle" - a memoir about discovering meaning through making his own clothes. He reads from the book's cover, reveals a slightly embarrassing secret about one of the cover quotes, and shares the prologue featuring a pivotal moment on the London Underground with a crochet hook in his pocket. Along the way, there are mentions of Gandhi, Jeremy Clarkson, sweatshops, economic collapse, and why his wife doesn't always let him wear his homemade clothes in public. This is the beginning of an audiobook journey covering politics, religion, haberdashery, and the radical act of making things yourself.Perfect for: Anyone interested in slow fashion, making as activism, or just enjoys a good memoir with humour and heart.

In this return episode, John-Paul reflects on a year spent stepping back from big social platforms and returning to first principles. He talks about the simple, transformative habit of posting to his own website first—not for clicks, but for a sense of ownership. He explains the POSSE method, shares the joys of his "Outstagram" project, and makes a heartfelt case for why everyone should have a blog. It’s an ode to the open web, a nudge to reclaim your corner of the internet, and a reminder that "adequate" and independent is better than perfect and platform-dependent.

This is the first in a special mini-series on an ADEQUATE podcast, and I'm really excited about it. I'm working on a new book project called The Convosphere, and in this introductory episode, I wanted to give you a bit of background on what that's all about. Basically, I've been thinking a lot about how conversations - whether it's interviews, chats with friends, or even overheard exchanges - can have a profound impact on our lives, even if we're not directly involved. And a whole interconnected web of conversations is happening all around us, shaping our collective understanding in ways we may not always realise. I'm calling this the "Convosphere" - a play on "biosphere" to capture this idea of a global ecosystem of conversations. And I want to dive deeper into exploring this concept, looking at how a single conversation can have ripple effects, and what it means for how we engage with each other in this digital age. Anyway, I'm really excited to get into this topic more in the episodes to come. If you're curious to follow along, be sure to sign up for updates at flintoff.org. I'd love to hear your thoughts too - what conversations have really stuck with you and changed your perspective? Let me know!

John-Paul Flintoff introduces a new podcast mini-series on writing book proposals, motivated by his recent work with aspiring writers.- He discusses the common issue of self-doubt that many writers face.- He recounts a meeting with a woman in a cafe who expressed a desire to write and publish a book, but was held back by self-criticism.- Flintoff provides examples of famous writers like Shakespeare and C.S. Lewis who could have doubted their right to write.- He emphasizes that anyone, even those who are not experts, can have a valuable perspective and be entitled to write.- Flintoff discusses the value of honesty and ignorance in writing, and how the writing process can help clarify why a topic is interesting.- He highlights the difficulty and effort involved in writing a book, which he believes makes the final product worthwhile.- Flintoff encourages aspiring writers to embrace their imposter syndrome and use it to drive them to write thoughtfully.- He reassures listeners that they are entitled to write and that their efforts will reveal the value in their stories and ideas.Key Takeaways:​ Even the greatest writers have grappled with imposter syndrome and self-doubt.​ Your unique perspective and experiences can provide valuable insights, even if you don't consider yourself an expert.​ The writing process can help uncover why a topic is interesting and worth exploring.​ Embracing self-doubt and using it to drive thoughtful writing is preferable to overconfidence.​ The effort and difficulty involved in writing a book is what makes the final product worthwhile.Website: https://flintoff.org

John-Paul Flintoff discusses the challenges of editing audio for his podcast and shares insights from listeners working on family heirloom stories. He highlights Charmian's project involving her father's censored WWII letters and her own censored correspondence from Spain during General Franco's regime. Flintoff emphasizes the importance of describing and indexing letters and the value of adding commentary to enhance their storytelling. He references Eminem's song "Stan" to illustrate the impact of unanswered letters and encourages speculating on the emotions behind them. Flintoff concludes by inviting listeners to share their thoughts and experiences.This pop-up newsletter about family heirlooms has been supported by members of my Special Projects patron scheme. Please consider joining.