Cassils on Visibility Ethics and the Responsibility of the Gaze

In an interview with Artribune, Montreal-born artist Cassils (b. 1975) discusses their practice spanning performance, photography, film, sound, and sculpture. They describe the body as a "somatic instrument" and a barometer of the socio-political moment. Cassils explains their choice to obscure the body (ice, fire, darkness) as a response to the scrutinizing gaze on trans bodies and the politics of visibility. In "Inextinguishable Fire" (2015), the artist holds fire for about 25 seconds, requiring total presence to avoid inhaling flames. "Becoming an Image" (2012) transfers a retinal burn into the viewer's body, making them custodians of a living archive. Cassils insists that documentation is not neutral and that a percentage of sales proceeds goes to grassroots community organizations. They emphasize that identity manifests in the work but must remain broader than any single grid. The interview was conducted by Antonino La Vela.