More than 700 trans and non-binary faces peer out across London’s Trafalgar Square from its Fourth Plinth—part of a monumental sculpture by artist Teresa Margolles. The artwork, titled Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant), is a testament to trans existence and resilience, featuring 736 facial casts of trans, non-binary, and gender-non-conforming people, mounted on a cuboidal structure.
The plaster casts were made in Juárez, Mexico City, and London by Margolles and are arranged in the form of a tzompantli—a historic wooden rack used by Mesoamerican civilisations to display human skulls used in sacrifice. The structure rises to 2.5 meters in height and weighs 3.3 tonnes.
The casts capture intricate details of the sitters, from hair and eyelashes to the texture of their skin. But they are ephemeral: as they’re exposed to the soggy London weather, the casts will gradually erode.
Margolles—who worked as a forensic pathologist before becoming a social practice artist focusing on violence—collaborated with LGBTQ+ charities Micro Rainbow and Queercircle on the commission, which is dedicated to her friend Karla, a trans woman who was murdered in Juárez in December 2015.
Artist Teresa Margolles pictured in front of her sculpture, ‘Mil Veces un Instante’. Photography: James O Jenkins
‘Mil Veces un Instante’ by Teresa Margolles. Photography: James O Jenkins
‘Mil Veces un Instante’ by Teresa Margolles. Photography: James O Jenkins
‘Mil Veces un Instante’ by Teresa Margolles. Photography: James O Jenkins
Margolles said, ‘This collective sculpture, which brings together the faces of 726 people living in the United Kingdom and Mexico, stands not only as a display of resilience and humanity from the trans plus/non-binary community but also as a reminder of the murders and disappearances that still occur, especially in Latin America.’
According to the civil organisation Letra Ese, 231 members of Mexico’s LGBTQ+ community were murdered from 2021 to 2023, of which 65 per cent were transgender. Trans hate crimes also hit record levels last year in the UK: in March 2023, 4,732 hate crimes against transgender people were recorded by the Home Office—a rise of 11% from the previous year.
Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant) is the 15th work to be installed on the Fourth Plinth, which is among the foremost art commissions in the world and is funded by the Mayor of London with support from Arts Council England and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The work will be on show for the next 18 months.
