Trans art installation to be placed in Trafalgar Square

An art piece composed of 850 facial casts of trans people is due to be installed around the fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square in 2024. According to The Guardian, the piece was created by award-winning Mexican artist Teresa Margolles and was chosen from a shortlist of six other artworks. A sculpture by Samson Kambalu was also selected and will proceed Margolles’ piece, with it due to be installed in 2022.

Margolles’ piece is named 850 Improntas (850 Imprints), and will take casts of the faces of trans people all across the world, many of whom are sex workers. She expects that the weather will eventually erode the installation to leave what she refers to as “a kind of anti-monument”. Her aim is to “put a spotlight on participants whose lives are often overlooked.”

Ekow Eshun, the chair of the fourth plinth commissioning group, said this year’s competition received more public votes than ever: “This year was an incredibly strong shortlist from six incredibly exciting contemporary artists”. He added: “I am thrilled at the outcome and very much looking forward to seeing the new works on the plinth.”