Teresa Margolles is an internationally renowned artist and will be casting 850 plaster casts from the faces of trans and non-binary people between Mexico and the UK. These casts will be placed on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2024 as a show of resilience and humanity from trans and non- binary communities.
Mexico is second (behind Brazil) in the number of known homicides against transgender people. It is from this precarious and transphobic climate that Margolles conceived her proposal for the Mayor of London’s Fourth Plinth Commission.
From September 2024 – 2026, Margolles will install in Trafalgar Square Improntas, a large-scale sculpture made with plaster cast moulds of the faces of 850 transgender and gender non-conforming people. Each will be created in collaboration with an individual by applying plaster directly onto their face. As such, not only are their respective features recorded, but the material also becomes infused with their hair and skin cells.
Each casting will last approximately one hour, this includes the time you spend with the artist.
Organisations or participants will be thanked monetarily for their collaboration and their time. In addition, each participant will be given an original photograph made by Teresa Margolles with their respective certificate of authenticity. All identifiable features can be blocked if you so wish.
You must book an appointment – no drop ins. It’s up to you if you want your name to be shown or catalogued.
Castings will take place January 3 – March 17, 2024, 11am – 4pm, at QUEERCIRCLE, Building 4, Design District, 3 Barton Yard, Soames Walk, London SE10 0BN.
