Painting with 14 Personalities

By Charlotte Fantelli

'There are paintings I have no memory of doing' - Kim Noble.

British artist Kim Noble is a fascinating and remarkable woman, who, in 1995 was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formally known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Her condition means that she assumes multiple personalities, each personality having no recollection of one another.

A fascinating and insightful short documentary has just been made about her extraordinary life and works. Entitled 'Painting with 14 Personalities' it takes a detailed look at her life, her art, and her condition. The film is being aired in the international festival circuit and can be viewed in the UK at the Rushes Soho Shorts International Film Festival, taking place at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, on Monday 16th July at 8.30pm.

The documentary explores Kim's life, her condition and the art that helps her make sense of the personalities she 'will never meet'. Having seen the press preview, I can urge anyone to attend. I was struck by the emotion as Kim views her work as if for the first time, and explains how 'there could be a painting in front of me that I've not done, I have no memory of doing it.'

Producer and director Tuyet Le explains 'I am fascinated by the amazing capabilities of the human mind. We are so perfectly made that we always fall back on our feet somehow. We have extraordinary capabilities to survive.

'I was filming PATIENT 17, a fiction thriller about Dissociative Identity when I met Kim. Meeting her sealed all the work I have done prior to making the feature film. Kim taught me so much more about the condition and I was privileged to see the compelling artworks created by her personalities.'

The film is a stark look at what is an incredibly taboo and very much misunderstood disorder, Le hopes it will help understanding of the condition and art therapy which has been shown to be most beneficial. Le tells us; 'painting and art in general help healing. Painting with 14 Personalities is only a glimpse into the complex condition of DID but I hope it will help raise awareness.'

You can book tickets to the Rushes Soho Shorts International Film Festival. You can buy Kim Noble's book 'All of Me' here:

Find out more about the documentary here: http://p17.moonfruit.com/#/documentary/4552436540