How London Is Celebrating Trans & Non-Binary Victims of Violence
London has just unveiled its newest addition to Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth and it celebrates the lives of trans and non-binary people. Here's what you need to know.
In its 15th year, The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square has become a space for artists from across the globe to share their artwork in the capital.
What Is The Fourth Plinth?
After originally being erected to hold a statue of William IV, the artwork itself never appeared. In recent years, the ownership of the empty plinth has been handed over to Westminster City Council and the Mayor Of London. In 2005, The Fourth Plinth Commission was created - pulling together a group of specialist advisers to place installations and artworks atop of the plinth, allowing artists from across the world to have their work sit atop the plinth for years at a time.
What’s Been On The Fourth Plinth Before?
Previous artists that have graced the plinth include Antony Gormley, Yinka Shonibare, David Shrigley and Heather Phillipson. Gormley invited 2,400 members of the public to each spend one hour on the plinth and were allowed to do ‘anything they wished.’
Shonibare too created a memorable moment with his ‘Nelson’s Ship In A Bottle’ and became the first black British artist to be commissioned for the Fourth Plinth.
What’s There Now?
On Wednesday 18th September, Trafalgar Square’s 15th Fourth Plinth Commission was unveiled at a gathering in the capital where the worlds press gathered to see what was hidden behind the black cloak that had covered this periods commission.
Created by Artist Teresa Margolles, the new installation titled Mil Veces un Instante (A thousand times an Instant) stands stark and rigid, made of plaster casts of the faces of 726 trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming victims of violence. Margolles’ work is a tribute to her trans friend Karla La Borrada, who was murdered in Ciudad Juárez in Mexico in 2015. Across the country, violence towards women is endemic, with 11 women reportedly being murdered each day.
Throughout her career Margolles has been inspired by her work as a forensic pathologist and in an interview with The Guardian she identified that this piece is “a tribute to all the people killed for reasons of hate”, expanding by saying that it as a piece that will act as a source of courage for those still with us. “Above all [this is a tribute] to those who live on, to the new generations who will defend the power to freely choose to live with dignity.”
Created using 726 masks of 326 people from Mexico and the same number again from the UK, it is made to capture the authenticity and reality of the trans and non-binary community in all its raw glory. Each ‘life mask’ includes each persons facial expressions or make-up that they were wearing, some with visible false eyelashes within the cast. Individually cast by Margolles herself, each casting session lasted between 1 - 1.5 hours where she would speak with the model and learn about their stories and experiences, adding depth and humanity to each mask structured in the final ensemble.
Designed to degrade with time and be impacted by the elements, in Margolles words, the fragility of the material is ‘a reflection that community is both fragile and strong’.
How Can I See It?
All installations on The Fourth Plinth are free to witness and attend. Simply turn up in Trafalgar Square and outside the National Portrait Gallery you’ll be greeted by Mil Veces un Instante.
When Will It Be Changed?
Currently the next commission titled ‘Lady In Blue’ by artist Tschabalala Self is set to be unveiled in 2026, so you have plenty of time to catch Teresa Margolles work whilst it stands atop The Fourth Plinth.
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