There are 14 names alongside paintings at an exhibition opening this week at the Novas Gallery in central London, but the collection is in fact the work of one woman. The woman in question, Kim Noble, has dissociative identity disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder. Her exhibition, All of Me, features 30 artworks by each of Noble's 14 personalities, or "alters" as she prefers to call them.
For nearly two decades Noble was in and out of psychiatric hospitals and was repeatedly misdiagnosed. It was only 13 years ago when the artist, now 46, was finally given a diagnosis of DID that she was able to receive the therapeutic treatment she needed. Her condition first came to public attention in 1976 film Sybil which told the true story of a woman with 16 separate personalities.
Since her diagnosis, Noble has been able to live without medication and has not returned to hospital. A further turning point came four years ago at an art therapy class when a therapist convinced her to paint for pleasure and show her work publicly. She now paints daily. Or rather, Noble's different personalities, including Patricia, Judy, Mimi and MJ, paint daily.
While her work has received much acclaim from mental health professionals, Noble has found it harder to convince galleries to exhibit her diverse collection. Noble's dominant personality, Patricia, said: "I'm seen as an 'outsider', or untrained, artist. Also, when I first started looking for galleries to exhibit at, I didn't mention DID. Galleries would say 'come back when your style has settled'. In the end I felt I had to let them know about DID and all the different personalities." It is perhaps unsurprising that there is little public awareness of DID as even scientists are unsure about the condition. Peter Fonagy, a psychology professor at University College London, said: "Consciousness is one of the remaining mysteries of neuroscience. We may be able to explain the features of DID, but without understanding consciousness we cannot entirely explain how DID occurs."
Far from being considered pathological, Fonagy suggested DID can be seen as a sign of resilience; a strategy for coping with extremely traumatic events. "The mind is capable of separating and we put traumatising events into little 'boxes'. This can be useful as it can help people dissociate from these experiences," he said.
In spite of a lack of understanding of her condition by some gallery owners, Noble has managed to exhibit work across Europe, and last year she completed a two year stint as artist-in-residence at Springfield Hospital, south London. Rather than being known as an outsider, Noble would like to break into the mainstream art world. She said: "What I would like to do is earn a living from painting. To become a professional artist is any artist's dream." · All from One, featuring work by Kim Noble's 14 personalities, is at Novas Contemporary Urban Centre Gallery, 73-81 Southwark Bridge Road, London, from September 11 to October 3 2008. Details of other 'Outsider' exhibitions at the Novas Contemporary Urban Centre at novasscarman.org.
Further information on dissociative identity disorder can be found from First Person Plural or mental health charity Mind