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School of Fine Art / MLitt Contemporary Art Practice / Demi Gao / Slow Tide

Slow Tide

Slow Tide is my 2026 degree show project at The Glasgow School of Art. Bringing together painting, screenprint, digital image-making, translucent materials, light and crystallisation, the project develops through my ongoing ideas of grayscale and Soft Resistance.

Here, grayscale is not simply a visual quality, but a way of extending the time before meaning becomes fixed. Images blur, overlap, degrade and reappear; materials accumulate, dissolve and shift between states. Through these unstable surfaces and layered forms, Slow Tide explores how an image can remain unresolved, resisting the demand to settle into a single reading.

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Soft Interference, 2026. A translucent digital image printed on organza, featuring layered blue-toned imagery and overlapping visual textures.
Soft Interference

Soft Interference / 柔性干扰, 2026. Digital work printed on organza, 120 × 160 cm.

Soft Interference, 2026. A translucent digital image printed on organza, featuring layered blue-toned imagery and overlapping visual textures.
Soft Interference

Soft Interference / 柔性干扰, 2026. Digital work printed on organza, 120 × 160 cm.

Detail view of Soft Interference, 2026, showing the layered translucent imagery and blue-toned textures printed on organza.
Soft Interference – Detail

Soft Interference / 柔性干扰, 2026. Detail view. Digital work printed on organza, 120 × 160 cm.

Anatomy of an Echo, 2026. A reactive dye print on velvet featuring layered, blurred imagery in dark green, black, purple and warm tones.
Anatomy of an Echo

Anatomy of an Echo / 回声的解剖, 2026. Reactive dye print on velvet, 80 × 100 cm (image size).

For Sale: Price on request

Detail view of Anatomy of an Echo, 2026, showing layered reactive dye imagery and soft, blurred colour transitions on velvet.
Anatomy of an Echo – Detail

Anatomy of an Echo / 回声的解剖, 2026. Detail view. Reactive dye print on velvet, 80 × 100 cm (image size).

Detail view of Anatomy of an Echo, 2026, showing layered reactive dye imagery and soft, blurred colour transitions on velvet.
Anatomy of an Echo – Detail

Anatomy of an Echo / 回声的解剖, 2026. Detail view. Reactive dye print on velvet, 80 × 100 cm (image size).

Between Speech and Silence, 2026. An acrylic and photo transfer work on canvas featuring a fragmented face, layered imagery and partially obscured facial features.
Between Speech and Silence

Between Speech and Silence / 欲言, 2026. Acrylic paint and photo transfer on canvas, 88 × 62 cm.

For Sale: Price on request

Detail view of Between Speech and Silence, 2026, showing layered photo transfers, acrylic-painted surfaces and fragmented facial imagery.
Between Speech and Silence – Detail

Between Speech and Silence / 欲言, 2026. Detail view. Acrylic paint and photo transfer on canvas, 88 × 62 cm.

Detail view of Between Speech and Silence, 2026, showing layered photo transfers, acrylic-painted surfaces and fragmented facial imagery.
Between Speech and Silence – Detail

Between Speech and Silence / 欲言, 2026. Detail view. Acrylic paint and photo transfer on canvas, 88 × 62 cm.

A Slow Vanishing, 2026. A pale, layered screenprint on canvas featuring a partially obscured human figure and soft, fading blue-grey imagery.
A Slow Vanishing

A Slow Vanishing / 一场缓慢的隐去, 2026. Screenprint on canvas, 60 × 80 cm.

For Sale: Price on request

Detail view of A Slow Vanishing, 2026, showing pale layered screenprinted imagery, soft blue-grey tones and partially obscured forms on canvas.
A Slow Vanishing – Detail

A Slow Vanishing / 一场缓慢的隐去, 2026. Detail view. Screenprint on canvas, 60 × 80 cm.

Detail view of A Slow Vanishing, 2026, showing pale layered screenprinted imagery, soft blue-grey tones and partially obscured forms on canvas.
A Slow Vanishing – Detail

A Slow Vanishing / 一场缓慢的隐去, 2026. Detail view. Screenprint on canvas, 60 × 80 cm.

Before the Night Recognised Me, 2026. An oil painting on canvas featuring atmospheric, partially obscured imagery emerging from a darkened surface.
Before the Night Recognised Me

Before the Night Recognised Me / 在夜色认出我以前, 2026. Oil on canvas, 40 × 50 cm.

For Sale: Price on request

Detail view of Before the Night Recognised Me, 2026, showing layered oil-painted surfaces and partially obscured imagery emerging from dark tones.
Before the Night Recognised Me – Detail

Before the Night Recognised Me / 在夜色认出我以前, 2026. Detail view. Oil on canvas, 40 × 50 cm.

Detail view of Before the Night Recognised Me, 2026, showing layered oil-painted surfaces and partially obscured imagery emerging from dark tones.
Before the Night Recognised Me – Detail

Before the Night Recognised Me / 在夜色认出我以前, 2026. Detail view. Oil on canvas, 40 × 50 cm.

Installation view of two related works presented side by side: Receding on the left and Misregistered Gaze on the right, both combining translucent fabric, layered imagery and suspended elements.
Receding and Misregistered Gaze – Installation View

Installation view of Receding / 退潮 (left) and Misregistered Gaze / 错位的注视 (right), 2026.

Receding, 2026. A screenprint on translucent organza combined with plaster wall skin, featuring layered and partially obscured imagery.
Receding

Receding / 退潮, 2026. Screenprint on organza and plaster wall skin, image size 30 × 40 cm (frame only, excluding fabric).

For Sale: Price on request

Misregistered Gaze, 2026. A screenprint on translucent veil featuring layered facial imagery, fragmented forms and visual misalignment.
Misregistered Gaze

Misregistered Gaze / 错位的注视, 2026. Screenprint on veil, image size 31 × 41 cm (frame only, excluding fabric).

For Sale: Price on request

Temporary Monument, 2026. A digital work printed on backlight film, featuring layered imagery illuminated through a translucent surface.
Temporary Monument

Temporary Monument / 临时纪念碑, 2026. Digital work printed on backlight film, 34 × 59 cm (framed).

For Sale: £320

Detail view of Temporary Monument, 2026, showing layered digital imagery, illuminated colour and translucent textures printed on backlight film.
Temporary Monument – Detail

Temporary Monument / 临时纪念碑, 2026. Detail view. Digital work printed on backlight film, 34 × 59 cm (framed).

Detail view of Temporary Monument, 2026, showing layered digital imagery, illuminated colour and translucent textures printed on backlight film.
Temporary Monument – Detail

Temporary Monument / 临时纪念碑, 2026. Detail view. Digital work printed on backlight film, 34 × 59 cm (framed).

Soft Captivity, 2026. A layered image featuring a blurred female face and fragmented digital textures, presented on backlight film in an LED light box.
Soft Captivity

Soft Captivity, 2026. Backlight film in LED light box 60x80cm

For Sale: Price on request

Installation view of Soft Captivity, 2026, showing layered digital imagery, a blurred female face, screen-like textures and illuminated translucent surfaces.
Soft Captivity – Installation View

Soft Captivity, 2026. Installation view. Backlight film in LED light box, 60 × 80 cm.

Detail view of Soft Captivity, 2026, showing layered digital imagery, a blurred female face, screen-like textures and illuminated translucent surfaces.
Soft Captivity – Detail

Soft Captivity, 2026. Detail view. Backlight film in LED light box, 60 × 80 cm.

Blue Hush, 2026. A mixed-media work featuring layered blue-toned imagery, fragmented forms and textured surfaces.
Blue Hush

Blue Hush, 2026. Mixed media, 64 × 102.4 cm.

For Sale: £570

Detail view of Blue Hush, 2026, showing layered blue-toned imagery, fragmented forms and textured mixed-media surfaces.
Blue Hush – Detail

Blue Hush, 2026. Detail view. Mixed media, 64 × 102.4 cm.

Detail view of Blue Hush, 2026, showing layered blue-toned imagery, fragmented forms and textured mixed-media surfaces.
Blue Hush – Detail

Blue Hush, 2026. Detail view. Mixed media, 64 × 102.4 cm.

Overflow, 2026. A mixed-media canvas work featuring layered screenprinted imagery, rough jute scrim, crystalline alum formations and painted surfaces.
Overflow

Overflow / 溢出, 2026. Screenprint, jute scrim, alum crystal, acrylic on canvas, 90 × 120 cm.

For Sale: Price on request

Detail view of Overflow, 2026, showing layered screenprinted imagery, jute scrim, alum crystal formations and textured acrylic surfaces.
Overflow – Detail

Overflow / 溢出, 2026. Detail view. Screenprint, jute scrim, alum crystal and acrylic on canvas, 90 × 120 cm.

Detail view of Overflow, 2026, showing layered screenprinted imagery, jute scrim, alum crystal formations and textured acrylic surfaces.
Overflow – Detail

Overflow / 溢出, 2026. Detail view. Screenprint, jute scrim, alum crystal and acrylic on canvas, 90 × 120 cm.

Blind Spot Inventory, 2026. A small mixed-media work combining layered imagery, fragmented textures and material traces.
Blind Spot Inventory

Blind Spot Inventory / 盲区清单, 2026. Mixed media, 21 × 29.7 cm.

For Sale: £110

Installation view of Blind Spot Inventory, 2026, shown within the Slow Tide degree show alongside other layered and mixed-media works.
Blind Spot Inventory – Installation View

Blind Spot Inventory / 盲区清单, 2026. Installation view from Slow Tide, The Glasgow School of Art Degree Show. Mixed media, 21 × 29.7 cm.

Detail view of Blind Spot Inventory, 2026, showing layered imagery, fragmented textures and mixed-media material traces.
Blind Spot Inventory – Detail

Blind Spot Inventory / 盲区清单, 2026. Detail view. Mixed media, 21 × 29.7 cm.