Genesis P-Orridge

Discover the life and artistic journey of Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (1950–2020), a British avant-garde musician, performance artist, and cultural provocateur. From founding Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV to exploring identity and pandrogyny, P-Orridge redefined art and gender.

Introduction

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was an English singer, performance and visual artist, poet, occultist, and provocateur whose work spanned music, performance, and radical explorations of identity.

Often cited as one of the founding figures of industrial music, P-Orridge’s boundary-pushing projects—ranging from COUM Transmissions to Throbbing Gristle to Psychic TV—challenged norms about art, sexuality, gender, and public decency.

They self-identified as third gender and used pronouns such as s/he, h/er, or h/erself across their life.

Early Life and Family

Genesis was born Neil Andrew Megson in Victoria Park, Manchester, to Ronald and Muriel Megson.

As a child, Genesis was mobile—living in Essex, then Cheshire—and won a scholarship to Stockport Grammar School. Solihull School (1964–1968), a period they later described as creatively formative but also traumatic.

From early on, they showed interest in art, mysticism, and the avant-garde: reading surrealist works, experimenting with collage, and forming early “happenings.”

Youth, Education, and Early Projects

After Solihull, Genesis enrolled at the University of Hull to study Social Administration and Philosophy, but dropped out to pursue more radical artistic life.

While at Hull, they co-founded a student magazine called Worm, which accepted all contributions without censorship—even controversial ones.

In 1969, they co-founded COUM Transmissions, an art collective with confrontational performance, multimedia experiments, and provocations aimed at destabilizing cultural norms (e.g. sexuality, violence, taboo). Genesis P-Orridge, combining a self-chosen name with a cheeky twist on “porridge.”

COUM’s performance art drew media backlash, especially their 1976 Prostitution Show at London’s ICA, which critics denounced, branding COUM as “wreckers of civilisation.”

Career and Achievements

Founding Throbbing Gristle & the Rise of Industrial Music

In late 1975, Genesis and collaborators Cosey Fanni Tutti, Chris Carter, and Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson formed Throbbing Gristle (TG), evolving from COUM’s art roots into a groundbreaking music project. industrial music.

Their debut album, The Second Annual Report, and later 20 Jazz Funk Greats, explored extremes of sound, dissonance, taboo imagery, and conceptual disruption. Mission of Dead Souls, in San Francisco.

Psychic TV, TOPY & Occult Engagement

After TG’s dissolution, Genesis co-founded Psychic TV in 1981 with Christopherson and Alex Fergusson. Psychic TV blended video art, performance, mysticism, musical experimentation (from post-punk to acid house) and media theory.

Genesis also played a leading role in founding Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY), an occult, magical, and cultural network concerned with ritual, personal transformation, and the use of media/magic.

Over time, Psychic TV adopted influences from acid house and electronic dance music, merging the boundaries between underground club culture, ritual, and sonic experimentation.

Pandrogeny Project & Identity Innovation

In the early 1990s, Genesis married Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge (née Jacqueline Breyer) and together they embarked on their Pandrogeny Project—a life and art experiment in which they attempted to merge into a single pandrogynous being through surgical body modification, hormone therapy, tattooing, and cosmetic interventions, to blur the boundaries of gender and individual identity.

After Lady Jaye’s death in 2007, Genesis continued the project in her memory, referring to themselves often in plural and continuing modifications.

They also authored works, produced visual art, poetry, experimental films, and performance pieces, often crossing media boundaries.

Later Years, Retirement & Death

In 2009, Genesis announced retirement from touring and musical performance to focus on art and writing.

In October 2017, they were diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, and passed away on 14 March 2020 in New York City at age 70.

Their memoir Nonbinary was published posthumously in 2021, completed just before their death.

Historical Milestones & Context

• 1969–1970 – Founding of COUM Transmissions; early performance art provocations.

• 1971 – Adopts the name Genesis P-Orridge.

• 1975 – Formation of Throbbing Gristle.

• 1981 – Launch of Psychic TV and TOPY.

• 1990s–2000s – Pandrogeny project, cross-media art, and continuation of experimental work.

• 2009 – Retirement from performance touring.

• 2017 – Diagnosis of leukemia.

• 2020 – Death at age 70.

P-Orridge’s career spanned the transformation of counterculture art, industrial music, performance art, occult practice, and gender theory across decades.

Legacy and Influence

Genesis P-Orridge’s impact is vast and multifaceted:

1. Founding figure of industrial music. TG’s visceral, confrontational sound and aesthetic laid the foundation for generations of noise, industrial, and experimental artists.

2. Boundary-crossing art. Their integration of performance, video, ritual, sound, visual art, and literature has inspired artists working across media.

3. Identity and gender discourse. The Pandrogeny Project and their public identity as “third gender” challenged binary notions of gender, body, and subjectivity.

4. Cult and underground legacy. Their art and teachings (via TOPY) persist in underground networks and alternative spiritual and aesthetic communities.

5. Cultural provocateur. Often controversial, P-Orridge deliberately evoked shock and taboo to provoke reflection about society, control, and identity.

6. Institutional recognition. Their works are held or referenced in institutions like Tate and other art museums.

Even after their death, exhibitions, documentaries, and scholarly work continue to explore their life and theoretical contributions.

Personality and Artistic Approach

Genesis P-Orridge was known for:

• Radical audacity. They confronted taboos, shame, and power in their work.

• Relentless experimentation. Never limited to one medium, they constantly reinvented artistic methods.

• Spiritual and occult commitment. Magic, ritual, and esoteric belief pervaded their aesthetic.

• Fluid identity. They saw identity not as fixed but as mutable—hence their pronoun choices and bodily transformations.

• Provocation as method. Shock, transgression, and confrontation were part of their strategy to challenge norms.

• Community orientation. Through TOPY and collaborative artworks, they fostered alternative networks and learner communities.

Their art was rarely neutral—it was intentionally disruptive, deeply personal, and spiritually engaged.

Selected Quotes

Genesis P-Orridge’s statements often reflect their philosophical, spiritual, and confrontational ethos. Here are a few:

• “I want to show how the taboo is conditioning, and then release people from it.”

• “Your body is a piece of public property as much as your mind—or your signature on a work of art.”

• “Pandrogyny isn’t about ego or vanity. It’s about dissolving the boundary between self and other.”

• “Magic is re-contextualisation. It’s the ability to shift perception.”

These lines echo their interest in perception, taboo, identity, and transgression.

Lessons from Genesis P-Orridge

From their life and work, we can draw several lessons (especially for artists, thinkers, and boundary-pursuers):

• Transcend genres. Don’t limit yourself to a single medium; let ideas drive form.

• Use art as challenge, not comfort. Provocation can be a tool for insight and disruption.

• Identity is dynamic. The body, gender, and subjectivity are not fixed—they can be explored as art.

• Ritual and myth matter. Symbolic systems (myth, magic) can enrich and deepen creative practice.

• Community and networks. Underground scenes, rituals, and peer networks can offer fertile ground for innovation.

• Persistence through controversy. Navigating taboos and backlash may be part of the path for transformative art.

Conclusion

Genesis P-Orridge was an indefatigable provocateur—a bridge between art, sound, occult ritual, and gender theory. They refused boundaries, embraced transformation, and left a legacy that continues to ripple across underground, academic, queer, and aesthetic circles.

If you’re intrigued, I suggest reading Nonbinary (their memoir), exploring Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth archives, or watching the documentary S/he Is Still Her/e. Their life is itself an artwork in motion.