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30 YEARS OF BEING CUT UP

The Tate Modern owns the archives of Genesis Breyer P-Orridge’s work, but through October 18 Invisible-Exports is showing works of theirs no one’s seen, unless you’ve been privileged enough to visit...

The Tate Modern owns the archives of Genesis Breyer P-Orridge's work, but through October 18 Invisible-Exports is showing works of theirs no one's seen, unless you've been privileged enough to visit their home. I'm using plural pandrogynous pronouns here not because I have no grasp of grammar but for reasons you really should know by now. Genesis has been around for decades, pulling off acts of magick and art as everyday life in a couple little bands you've probably never heard of called Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, several visual art shows, and an experiment of love that began in the 90s with partner Lady Jaye in which the two collaborated on fusing into a single elective identity through a series of plastic surgeries, hormone therapy, and altered behavior. I could go on and on about it but you can just watch this episode of Soft Focus if you want to know more.
Everything is sacred, nothing is sacred—least of all the body. Worship it and tear it apart and put it back together again, however you like, is how Genesis and Lady Jaye saw it (she passed two years ago). And it's how they made art together too. I went to the gallery just before the opening and got a tour of what's basically a temple full of documented rituals.

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Read Liz Armstrong’s interview with Genesis P-Orridge on viceland.