Pernille Gao is a mixed media artist based in New York. She is originally from Hong Kong and has lived in both Eastern and Western communities; she takes inspiration from her multicultural background and exposure to diverse environments.

Pernille mainly uses acrylic paint, charcoal, pen, image transfer, and other found materials to create 2D works on canvas or boards, most commonly creating mixed media collages. Her current practice focuses on textiles, embedding history and symbolism into her work. For example, traditional Chinese qipao fabrics are used as the 'canvas.'

Her work is driven by experiences of repetitive immigration, moving to a new place, and experiencing a new culture every few years. This multicultural past has created confusion and a lack of belonging to a specific place or culture, which drives Pernille to seek a connection with her heritage. She is fascinated by the relationship between people and their 'home,' how it is created, and how we interact with our environment on a personal level. She is also interested in how her identity as from both Hong Kong and China is influenced by the current socio-political climate and how being removed from that setting has provided an understanding of the situation from a unique perspective. For Pernille, creating art is a therapeutic insight into herself and an outlet for social and political commentary.

Through political and historical research combined with the internal reflection on her journey to find a 'home,' Pernille has created a world of literalized memory and visualization of complex social dynamics by forming a space in her works where these ideas can interact with each other. She regularly takes recognizable elements of her surroundings to symbolize locations of value, using inspiration from ordinary and mundane details from the environment. Using mixed media provides her with a wide range of artistic vocabulary to express emotions of longing, confusion, and nostalgia through layering, texture, and depth. Her focus on complexity and detail draws the viewer into the world she has created and aims to create an immersive and intimate experience.