From early in her life, Genesis P-Orridge “didn’t trust our inherited society.”

This perspective led them to a lifetime of radical expression as an experimental musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, gender revolutionary and occultist known as Genesis P-Orridge. Much of her art shocked the public and spoke to a misunderstood generation. P-Orridge believed you can’t make mistakes in art; it just “doesn’t appeal to some people.”

Filmmaker David Charles Rodrigues directed the documentary “S/he is Still Her/e” about the life and cultural impact of P-Orridge. It was filmed during the final year of the artist’s life and features William Burroughs, Brion Gyson, Timothy Leary and a special cameo by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. It will be presented at Orcas Center on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. Rodriguez will conduct a Q&A after the showing. Note: the film contains sex and self-harming scenes.

Born Neil Andrew Megson, Genesis P-Orridge died in 2020 at age 70. Their name is derived from the Book of Genesis because “that’s the point; everything is creativity.”

“That wasn’t because I wanted a funny name; it was because I wanted to control the narrative of my own life,” P-Orridge says in the film.

Rodrigues, based in Los Angeles, said he had always liked P-Orridge’s music, but “when I was introduced to her artwork, I fell in love with her universe.”

“The ‘New York Times’ wrote this beautiful, bitter article about Gen being diagnosed with terminal leukemia,” Rodrigues said. “I was very touched by it, and way before I knew Gen, she visited me in a dream and said she was going to transfer all of her knowledge to me by putting her hands over my hands. And then all of these other coincidences happened, and I ended up going to her New York apartment to talk.”

They spent 12 hours together before Rodrigues dared to tell her about his dream.

“She pulled out a book with this quote from Brion Gyson that said wisdom can only be passed through the touching of hands. Right then and there, we made a spiritual agreement that I would spend the rest of her life capturing that knowledge.”

P-Orridge gained prominence as a founding member of the experimental music group Throbbing Gristle in the mid-1970s. It was at the forefront of the industrial music movement, utilizing avant-garde techniques, electronic sounds and provocative themes.

After Throbbing Gristle disbanded in 1981, P-Orridge formed Psychic TV, an influential experimental music and multimedia collective that embraced psychedelia, punk and industrial music elements. P-Orridge’s exploration of spirituality, gender identity, and mysticism became central themes in their work. In addition to their musical endeavors, P-Orridge was a prolific visual artist, creating collage, sculpture and mixed-media installations that reflected their interest in chaos magic, body modification and alternative spirituality.

Islander Jared Lovejoy is bringing the film to Orcas audiences.

“I’m excited to share this film with the Orcas community,” Lovejoy said. “I met Genesis when I was 19 when they were on tour in Seattle. I was a big fan of house music, and their band Psychic TV was producing some great house music back in the late 1980’s. I ended up getting to dance with them in their Seattle shows, and later, in New York. Genesis and I had talks about culture as an artistic medium, and I found that very inspiring.”

Lovejoy remembers that P-Orridge called herself a “Cultural Engineer,” a term that stayed with him for years.

“I doubt I would have gotten into doing the work I did without meeting Genesis and being inspired by his way of challenging and mixing cultural influences to create events and experiences that hadn’t been seen before,” Lovejoy said.

Rodrigues conducted interviews with P-Orridge until her death, and her children provided him with a hard drive and full access to the art estate. His most meaningful takeaway from the process is that “human beings have a power that we don’t tap into, which is that every morning, you can wake up and be someone else. There are so many possibilities where identity can take you.”

“I hope people come to the film with no expectations, an open mind and an open heart,” he said. “Buckle in and go on the ride.”