J. Jennebach Varela is a multilingual photographer (seven languages) with dual nationality, specialising in event photography, videography, and graphic design, specialising in branding. She works across commercial and editorial disciplines, with a focus on high-end content creation and post-production for brands, artists, and cultural institutions. Her work spans fashion, travel and hospitality, wellness, and event production, alongside curated collaborations in music. She is influenced by street dance and music, drawing on her background as a dancer and as a musician to explore storytelling through sound and light.

Since 2017, she has developed a Fine Art practice rooted in alternative and highly technical techniques—from infrared and astrophotography to underwater and extreme weather conditions and low-light environments. Her large-scale prints are held in private collections and installed in design-led hospitality spaces. In 2024, her mixed-media project using sea salt, flower ink, and distressed Mamiya film was selected for Photo Londonat Somerset House, as part of UAL’s official showcase. She holds a BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, and trained under fashion photographer and DoP Irene Cruz, assisting on editorial and video projects across Berlin and Madrid.

Fine Art photography exhibitions

Selected Exhibitions

‘XHIBIT 2022/2023’
Dray Walk Gallery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL
28 April – 3 May 2023

‘Counterfeit’
OPENing Gallery, 11 Angel Court, London EC2R 7BH
6 – 19 February 2023

‘BIG SPACE’
The Street, Central Saint Martins, Granary Square, London N1C 4AA
1 – 3 February 2023
Installation of a hand-sawn print on silk and cotton from the photographic series Berlin (2022). Suspended in the central atrium to interact with natural light and air flow, creating shifting patterns of movement and shadow.

‘PARASI7E’
Online Group Exhibition
25 January 2021
A collaborative digital project developed by a collective of Central Saint Martins artists, exploring sound, photography, animation, and performance.
Available at parasi7e.cargo.site

‘Mirror Mirror’
Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo, Japan
30 July – 4 August 2020
Group exhibition curated by Cheuklin Wu and Siyan Zhang. The project used mirrors to explore four themes—sky in the mirror, the colour red, intimacy, and visible sound—as a response to the global pandemic. Selected by LOHAS Magazine for its July 2020 edition.

Foundation in Art and Design Summer Show
Camberwell College of Arts, Foundation Centre, 1 Wilson Road, London
5 – 11 May 2019
Exhibited Keith Mirror | What’s He Building In There?, a photographic and sound installation piece.

Sound & Digital Art Events

Sonic Reverb
CSM Fine Art 4D Collaborative Project | sonicreverb.tumblr.com
One-day public event, with the exhibition open for one week.
Presented La Creación, an experimental sound piece using low frequencies, daily lockdown recordings, and poetic rhythm. Inspired by hip-hop, Spanish nightlife, and the poetic structure of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. Every sound symbolically referenced Romanticist language and rhythm.

DND Emotion Map
In collaboration with N. Wong Zhao and A. Pert
Multi-sensory interactive experience combining ambient sound, an HTML maze, and a VR space designed to reflect emotional mapping through digital landscapes.

​

EDUCATION 

FD CAMBERWELL COLLEGE OF ARTS; FOUNDATION DIPLOMA IN ART AND DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY AND TIME BASED MEDIA

BFA CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS; FINE ART, 4D PATHWAY

​MFA UDIT; GRAPHIC DESIGN

SPECIALISED TRAINING: LETTERING W. IVAN CASTRO AT CALLIGRAPHY ITALIA

​CINEMATOGRAPHY AT RAINDANCE LONDON

DIPLOMA IN DIRECTION OF MUSIC VIDEOS BY ELISAVA

​DIPLOMA IN ADVANCED AI BY CEI MARKETING SCHOOL

DIPLOMA IN SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING  BY IE BUSINESS SCHOOL


                                       ​______________________________________________________

​
​​About me I’m a photographer, graphic designer, and videographer with a deep-rooted passion for storytelling through light.

My practice moves fluidly between commercial and fine art work—capturing everything from music festivals, health and fitness campaigns, and fashion, to intimate artist portraits and studio environments. I’m experienced in colour grading, medium format, broadcast, and film cameras, and have worked as an assistant on cinematographic productions for commercial clients.

Alongside photography, I also work as a graphic designer, with a focus on branding—particularly for clients in the health and wellness space—as well as editorial design. I have a long-standing love for vintage typography and packaging, which continues to inform the visual identity work I create. I’m also deeply connected to maritime life; earned my boat licence in 2022 and have created advertising campaigns for sailing events.

Since 2017, I’ve been developing a Fine Art photography practice grounded in alternative techniques including astrophotography, infrared, and underwater photography. My work often materialises as large-scale prints commissioned for restaurants, hotels, and private collectors—visual spaces where silence, light, and nature converge.

I began studying photography in Madrid in 2016, before continuing my education in set and fashion design at UAL. I hold a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (Photography and Time-Based Media), and a BA in Fine Art (Photography and 4D) from Central Saint Martins. My thesis explored the perception of light and visual language, drawing inspiration from light masters Robert Wilson and James Turrell. I investigated non-verbal communication through dance, colour, texture, and—above all—light. This exploration continues to shape my multidisciplinary practice, establishing my expertise in low-light conditions and in both creating and capturing complex visual effects. I’ve had the privilege of being mentored by fashion photographer and Director of Photography Irene Cruz, assisting her on projects in both Berlin and Madrid.

In 2024, my degree project—an experimental series using sea salt and yellow flower ink from the southern region of Mallorca, applied to distressed Mamiya film—was selected for UAL’s official showcase at Photo London (Somerset House).
​
​
About my practice 

Landscape & Light In 2017, I began modifying my own camera to explore infrared photography, initially capturing desert landscapes and natural textures from my home. This sparked an ongoing exploration of nature and light in extreme environments—working with astrophotography, light painting, and, since earning my boat licence in 2022, underwater photography and field recording. My aim is to build a sustainable future by raising awareness through powerful and mysterious images that hold light as a medium.

Graphic Design My work in branding, packaging- and editorial design is deeply informed by perceptual psychology and the emotional impact of light, sound and colour in space. My 2023 BA thesis explored these principles and their influence on audiences and consumer environments. I often incorporate alternative techniques—such as chlorophyll printing, transaquatypes, cliché-verre, and other experimental printmaking processes—into my posters, record sleeves, and editorial projects. Furthermore, I am inspired by vintage graphic design and artists such as Louise Fili, as well as by Art Deco, Catalan typography, and European signage from the 1920s to the 1950s. My academic background also gave me a foundation in motion graphics. and web design

​Animation & Sound Music and rhythm are at the core of my practice. I’ve played piano since the age of six and later took up drums—my most personal instrument. I produce music as a form of visual research, translating rhythm into colour, movement and texture. Influenced by street dance, literature and theatre, my work often features symbolic, layered compositions set within carefully designed environments I refer to as “the stage.” During the pandemic, my practice shifted toward digital animation and 3D landscapes using Cinema 4D, leading to the creation of The Creation Series (2021)—a body of work exploring sound, body movement and poetic rhythm in visual form.

ALL ENQUIRIES CONTACT