John Isaacs first studied biology in the south of England in Exeter. He would later use the knowledge of evolution and nature he obtained there in his art. He considers it his task to connect the rational, scientific view of flora, fauna and, in particular, humans with human qualities such as emotions, humour, and intuition. In 1988, he decided to study art and went to Cheltenham Art College in Gloucestershire for three years. He received the title of Master of Sculpture in London at the renowned Slade School of Fine Art.

In 1996, he earned a scholarship in Los Angeles and from 1999 to 2000 he was a resident artist at Imperial College in London. In 2005, he was a guest lecturer at the Getty Foundation in Los Angeles, and in 2015 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe. The art of Isaacs, who lives and creates in Berlin, has been presented in many solo exhibitions in Germany and abroad and has been regularly represented in group exhibitions in many galleries and museums, including at the beginning of his career in the 1990s in the context of the Young British Artists.