Artist Ela Xora opened eyes and minds in her recent exhibition Intersex Superstars at the Royal College of Art. The mask artist presented two new forthcoming intersex projects she’s linked to called Ponyboi and Intersex Army, to a VIP crowd of RCA students, politicians and celebrities. The audience was also treated to a panel discussion with some of the UK’s leading intersex activists including Seven Graham, Valentino Vecchietti, Anick, River Gallo, Abi Jay, Sara Gillingham, and comic Amazon Jackson.
Ela Xora has a significant new art project starting soon with acclaimed photographer and media mogul Rankin
The first new intersex project is a movie called Ponyboi starring River Gallo, the world’s first intersex person in a lead role, which is being produced by screen legends Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson, alongside Seven Graham and Sade Clacken Joseph. This exciting new Hollywood movie was sparked the year before, during Xora’s joint exhibition with Stephen Fry at RCA called Mythos – The Mask of Intersex, which Xora originally premiered at Oxford Museums, as part of the award-nominated Out In Oxford Museum tour there (photo). This impressive and beautifully shot debut by actor/writer River Gallo is a skillfully crafted ode to love beyond binary borders, and this short film is now being developed into a feature film which is hotly tipped for success next year.
The second new project Xora presented was a documentary film she is executive producing alongside Seven Graham called Intersex Army, by Tomas Auksas, which stars intersex activists from around the world, as well as names like Rose McGowan and Stephen Fry. This documentary includes the world’s first interview with an intersex woman called Abi Jay, who is the first human being in history to reveal that they were born with fully reproductive internal female organs, as well as fully reproductive external male organs. This biology is referred to by some doctors as Persistent Mullerian Duct Syndrome, or being a “true hermaphrodite”. The documentary’s stars Seven Graham, River Gallo and Abi Jay, give such captivating and fascinating accounts of their lives as misunderstood intersex people, that it’s impossible not to be compelled by this film. Particularly the interviews with Abi Jay, an intersex woman being mistaken daily as a transgender person and regularly being verbally abused. This forthcoming art documentary is a must-see, culture-changing catalyst due to launch on October 26.
In addition, Xora has just announced on social media this week that she has a significant new art project starting soon with acclaimed photographer and media mogul Rankin. Although tight-lipped about what the project is, the artist seems to be developing a range of film artworks this year, that looks set to provide the biggest backdrop so far for her hallmarked silver masks, which she’s been exhibiting at high profile Museums over the last few years. So we at Artlyst will continue to watch this young artist with great interest, as her new projects are revealed this year.