Zhu Tian, born in China, is currently living and working in Edinburgh. She obtained an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art in 2014, an MA in Sound Design from Bournemouth University in 2007, and a BA in Economics from the University of Nottingham in 2006.
Zhu’s multidisciplinary practice encompasses installation, sculpture, performance, sound, text, and video. She is recognised for her use of humour, satire, and provocative interventions to explore social structures, power dynamics, and the existential crises of contemporary life. Often imbued with a sharp critical edge and intense personal narrative, her works draw on literature and theatre to interrogate mainstream ideologies, prompting the audience to reconsider the interplay between power and freedom in everyday experience.
Zhu has exhibited at institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum (UK), Palais de Tokyo (France), and Centraal Museum (Netherlands). In 2025, her work was acquired by the Centre Pompidou for its permanent collection. She was awarded the Catlin Art Prize (UK, 2015), the Broomhill National Sculpture Prize (UK, 2014), and was selected as the emerging sound artist in the UK in 2009.
Et In Arcadia Ego – Know Thyself (2025) was part of a larger installation created for Art Basel HK 2025. The work reflects on modern narcissism—a structural condition shaped by neoliberalism and digital culture. These prints engage with the paradox of the Ancient Greek maxim regarding ‘self-knowledge’ and its implications within a contemporary context.