A sculpture in tribute to the trans community installed in Trafalgar Square in London

A new sculpture was unveiled on Wednesday in London’s famous Trafalgar Square, intended to give “From visibility to the transgender community”said the Mexican artist who created it, Teresa Margolles. The work, commissioned by London City Hall and titled “Mil Veces un Instante” (“A Thousand Times an Instant”), is on display on one of four plinths in Trafalgar Square, a temporary home to contemporary art, opposite the National Gallery. It will remain there until September 2026, in various forms.

Standing 2.5 metres tall and weighing 3.3 tonnes, it is made up of plaster casts of the faces of 726 transgender and non-binary people from the UK and Mexico. “We need to make known the lack of job opportunities and access to health care that (trans people) suffer. And especially the hate crimes, because in Latin America people emigrate because of this. They try to go to the United States thinking that at least there they will have their lives saved.”explained the artist.

The sculptor created this work in memory of a friend, a trans woman named Karla, who was murdered on December 22, 2015 in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, a crime that remains unsolved. “This is a tribute to Karla (…). She is the one who allowed me to start a dialogue with the community.”says Teresa Margolles, 61. Trans artist Terry Holiday traveled from her home country of Mexico to attend her friend’s unveiling. Her face is one of those featured in the sculpture.

“For us, it is very important to give this visibility to the situation in which we find ourselves, as trans women in Mexico and Latin America, facing indifference and defenselessness.”says Terry Holiday. “We are people, we are all human beings, we deserve fair treatment. We are not asking for privileges, just fairness and justice”she adds.

The fourth plinth, built in 1841, was originally intended to support an equestrian statue of King William IV, but the project was abandoned due to lack of funds. Since 1999, it has housed fifteen works of art. Past installations have included a giant electric blue rooster by artist Katharina Fritsch, a bronze horse skeleton by Hans Haacke, and a thumb extending up to ten metres high by David Shrigley.