Zhang Jingna is a Chinese-Singaporean photographer widely known as "zemotion." Her works have appeared on multiple editions of Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar. She was named on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list 2018.
Zhang was born in the suburbs of Beijing to a sporting family. She moved to Singapore at the age of eight, where she attended Haig Girls' School. At the age of fourteen, Zhang enrolled in Raffles Girls' School, where she began training in air rifle. She broke her first national record after nine months and subsequently joined the national team. She was active in the team for six years. Zhang's notable achievements within the sport include breaking a record in the 10m Air Rifle event at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships 2005 in Melbourne, and a bronze in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in 2006. She was awarded Sports Girl of the Year 2006 by the Singapore National Olympic Council for her performances.
Art school and photography
Zhang declined the option to go on to junior college for A Levels and pursued a degree in fashion design at LASALLE College of the Arts. She picked up photography there as a hobby when she was eighteen. Probably due to her keen interest and achievements with the medium, she left Lasalle and the national team to pursue photography full-time in 2008. Zhang's clientele since then include Mercedes Benz, Canon, Pond's, Ogilvy & Mather Advertising and Wacom. She also produced fashion editorials for magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle. In fall 2008, Zhang held her first solo exhibition, "", at The Arts House in Singapore. In 2010, 50 of her works were showcased along Orchard Road during Singapore's fashion festival – Fashion Seasons @ Orchard. It was Singapore's first large scale street exhibition featuring fashion photography. In late 2010, Zhang announced her second gallery exhibition, "". The show was held at Japan Creative Centre in Singapore with the support of Embassy of Japan. The event was noted for her photographs of Japanese musician Sugizo. In 2013 she was selected to be part of Vogue Italia's "A Glimpse at Photo Vogue" exhibition at Galleria Carla Sozzani in Milan. Zhang is influenced by people such as Peter Lindbergh, John William Waterhouse, Yoshitaka Amano and Zdzisław Beksiński. She also cites her friend Kuang Hong, a fellow artist, as one of the influences to her early artistic development.
Motherland Chronicles
In 2013 Zhang started a personal project entitled "". With the project she sought to explore subjects she loved during her childhood, including themes from anime, manga, and Japanese fantasy art. The project is intended for publication as an art book in 2014.
Collaborations, other interests
Zhang photographed Sugizo multiple times in 2009 and 2010. She also shot his band Luna Sea's 20th Anniversary World Tour in Tokyo Dome in 2010. Her photographs of Sugizo from the collaborations and concerts are collected in his book Ongaku ni ai sareta otoko: Sono haran no hansei, the cover features an image from their first collaboration in Japan. In 2011 Zhang photographed Korean celebrity Rain for Anchor Beer's campaign in Seoul. Zhang also worked with cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao. They collaborated on a tribute piece to Japanese artist and illustrator Yoshitaka Amano. From 2011–2013, Zhang owned and managed a semi-professional Starcraft 2 team called Infinity Seven. Formed in February 2011, Infinity Seven members now compete at top level tournaments for major prizes in cash, sponsorships, as well as online glory and attention from the online gaming community.
