Hidden throughout the parks and alleyways of East London exists an extraordinary collection of public art that serves a dual purpose: beautifying the community while healing the minds of those who create it. The Hackney Mosaic Project, founded by Tessa Hunkin, has transformed the therapeutic potential of mosaic-making into a powerful tool for mental health recovery over the past 15 years.
The project began with a chance encounter between Hunkin and a mental health recovery group in Westminster. This meeting sparked a profound realization: the meticulous, slow, and repetitive nature of building mosaics offers significant therapeutic value for individuals struggling with mental health challenges. The act of sorting glass shards, nipping ceramic tiles, and carefully pressing each piece into mortar demands intense concentration that can interrupt negative thought patterns and quiet the internal noise of trauma and stress.
"I spent a lot of time walking around Hackney, which has more parks than any other London borough," Hunkin recalled in an interview with Spitalfields Life. "A hidden little corner in Shepherdess Walk (park), off the City Road—that was the first."
That first installation in Shepherdess Walk brought together an unlikely community. "Eventually, we had children running around, recovering addicts, some not-so-recovered people with quite serious mental health problems and people who lived close by, all sitting together making mosaics," Hunkin explained. "They finished the mosaics much more quickly than I was anticipating and we have never stopped since."
The 72-year-old architect turned artist describes the therapeutic mechanism simply: "It gives people a holiday from their head. It is a simple task that requires concentration and produces something at the end, so it is never time wasted because you can see where your time has gone."
The project has created numerous installations across the borough, each serving as both artistic landmark and testament to collective healing. The Shepherdess Walk in Hoxton features expansive, Roman-style mosaics covering walls and pavement, depicting intricate details of East London life from local flora and fauna to modern figures with mobile phones. All the parks in the borough are depicted on two large walls, and the artists who helped create the panels designed their names to fit on a column of brick.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the project launched an initiative in 2023 to combat employee burnout for healthcare workers and staff at the River Place Health Centre. The large mural on the building showcases the name of the practice along with various plants and animals, including ducks, cats, and a fox. In a second phase, outdoor concrete benches at the health center were transformed with vibrant floral designs through weekly workshops that engaged over 100 local patients, including those recovering from mental health conditions.
In Hackney Downs Park, visitors can find The Hounds of Hackney Downs, a spectacular wall mosaic featuring 50 whimsically detailed portraits of local neighborhood dogs alongside native flowers from the park's wildflower meadow. The same park also features circular benches meticulously hand-tiled by volunteers with vibrant patterns, creating colorful gathering spaces throughout the community.
Additional installations include a large circular mosaic decorated with animals built into the pavement at Canalside Square along Arlington Avenue, and small circular markers installed into sidewalk cobblestones in Hoxton outside the Shoreditch Library and Hoxton Hall, the historic performing arts theater and community center.
The project typically holds weekly workshops on Wednesdays and Fridays from 2-5pm, and on alternate Saturday afternoons, though the schedule remains in flux this year due to potential changes at their current home in the Pavilion on Hackney Downs, which may become a cafe. The Hackney Mosaic Project website offers a full map of all installations for those interested in exploring these therapeutic works of art.
The project demonstrates a powerful truth: just as thousands of broken tile pieces can be assembled into resilient works of art, individuals facing mental health challenges can find healing through creative collaboration. Each mosaic stands as both a beautification of public space and a lasting metaphor for the journey of recovery undertaken by dozens of Londoners who have found solace in the steady rhythm of artistic creation.
