About

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Zhōu Níng (It's totally fine if you having trouble pronouncing it, you always can ask me, I will not be angry at all.), a Chinese queer artist born in 1996, engages with society, relationships, and mental health through her deeply personal, tragicomic works. Ning's multidisciplinary approach, spanning comedy, photography, filmmaking, music, and even dishwashing, leverages absurd and humorous narratives, making her experiences both relatable and manageable. Through a unique blend of comedy and tragedy, she explores complexity of emotions and elicits empathy, viewing herself as a joke to challenge and empower her audience.

 

Prior to launching her career as an artist, Ning worked as a professional musician manager in Beijing for five years, and pursued Chinese literature and history at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. She later moved to London where she earned a master's degree in Photography from the Royal College of Art, garnering recognition as a future star in the art world by both White Cube and The Times. Upon relocating to Guangzhou at the age of 26, Ning became known as the blogger ‘Straight Bangs Joni’ sharing her daily musings and experiences of joy and sorrow on Chinese social media. In 2022, she released her debut music album / music film entitled ‘Unremarkable Zhou’ which offers insight into her seemingly ordinary experiences from the past year as an unremarkable person.

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She moved to London in April 2023, hoping to make a name for herself in comedy through her own efforts. However, reality didn't meet expectations, and she found herself juggling jobs as a waitress, a cook, and a darkroom technician.

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But she has been practicing positive thinking, so she is doing OK.

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​Zhou Ning is a comedian, a photographer, a filmmaker, a musician and a dishwasher.

 

All in all, she is a joke itself.​

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