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[title]When Genesis Breyer P-Orridge removed all of h/er teeth and replaced them with gold casts of the originals, it was just the latest iteration of a decades-long project: P-Orridge manipulates h/er physical appearance to blur the lines of gender and self, something the Throbbing Gristle cofounder—born Neil Megson—describes as “pandrogyny.”
When Genesis Breyer P-Orridge removed all of h/er teeth and replaced them with gold casts of the originals, it was just the latest iteration of a decades-long project: P-Orridge manipulates h/er physical appearance to blur the lines of gender and self, something the Throbbing Gristle cofounder—born Neil Megson—describes as “pandrogyny.”
P-Orridge’s collaboration with painter and tattoo artist Daniel Albrigo translates h/er message—that our selves and bodies are replaceable yet full of meaning—into sacred and spiritual imagery. A neon “psychic cross” hangs from the gallery ceiling, small curio boxes mimic the shape and ornament of altars, and reliquaries house molds of P-Orridge’s teeth as though s/he were a martyred saint. Some of these boxes incorporate unconventional organic materials, such as the stingray skin lining the lid of Reliquary or the used tampon in Blood is Thicker Than Water. P-Orridge fetishizes h/er cast-off teeth by cradling them in white fur, framing them with gold leaf and sequins, and even immortalizing them as limited-edition silver rings, created with jeweler Alice Genese.
Albrigo plays the role of disciple to P-Orridge’s guru, illustrating the older artist’s performance in heavily glazed oil paintings. Their soft edges and lighting evoke still-lifes from the Dutch Golden Age and lend Albrigo’s work an air of religious reverence.
The show’s mysticism does justice to the extreme nature of P-Orridge’s body modifications. It makes “Putting Your Money…” a good catalyst for contemplating the precarious separation of art and life—as well as the fiction of self.