Born in Beijing and raised in Singapore, Jingna Zhang is a fashion and fine art photographer and director based in New York City and Seattle. Imbued with love for the Pre-Raphaelites and Japanese anime, Jingna’s work interweaves Asian aesthetics with western art styles, bringing unique visions of painterly and fantastical images to fashion and fine art photography.
Before photography, Jingna was a world-class air rifle shooter representing Singapore at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup. She was the only female founder of a North American esports team in StarCraft 2; and was once a concept artist and illustrator’s agent, with clients including LucasArts, Amazon Publishing, and Sony Online Entertainment.
Jingna majored in fashion design before dropping out of school to pursue photography. She is an alumna of Stanford’s innovation and entrepreneurship program Ignite and a Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 listmaker.
Jingna’s works have appeared on multiple editions of Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar. Her clients include Mercedes Benz, Montblanc, and Lancome. Jingna’s fine art works have exhibited at Leica Gallery Milan, Tsinghua University, and Japan Creative Centre in Singapore, and she has spoken at Laguna College of Art and Design, Monterrey Institute of Technology, and Square Enix.
Show Notes:
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:05:24 - Self-Expression 00:11:54 - Jingna's start in art 00:16:20 - Competition 00:18:12 - Working with certainty and uncertainty 00:22:08 - Resources for growth 00:29:39 - Jingna's work with creative writing / the beginner's mindset 00:37:31 - Childlike naivety 00:39:20 - Jingna's relationship with video games 00:47:00 - Wrap up