Yunjie Zhu

Yunjie Zhu is a Beijing-born photographer based in New York. She is currently studying Photography and Video at the School of Visual Arts.

Her father works in journalism and photography, while her mother works in fashion publishing. Growing up around both images and fashion led Zhu to recognize early on that a photograph does more than record how someone looks—it also shapes how that person is seen.

At eleven, Zhu came to the United States to attend middle school and high school. She later traveled independently through more than a hundred cities and several countries, moving through mountains, deserts, and the everyday lives of different cultures. Spending so much time in unfamiliar environments taught her to observe before approaching and to look for the subtle connections between people and the places they inhabit.

Her practice moves between portraiture, documentary, and fashion photography. Drawn to the complexity of people, she is less interested in carefully rehearsed expressions or flawless appearances than in moments when a subject is not fully prepared: a brief hesitation, an unconscious gesture, or the gradual lowering of their guard before the camera.

Rather than using photography to define her subjects, Zhu sees the camera as a way of entering into a relationship—one that allows people to come closer and gives what is usually concealed the possibility of being seen.