Teresa Margolles unveils trans community monument at Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth

Mexican artist Teresa Margolles has unveiled 'Mil Veces un Instante' (A Thousand Times in an Instant) on the Fourth Plinth in London's Trafalgar Square, the fourth sculpture to occupy the plinth this year and the fifteenth since the program began in 1999. The work consists of a large white cuboid covered with hundreds of life-cast masks depicting 726 real trans and non-binary individuals, half from Mexico and half from the UK. It pays homage to Karla La Borrada, a 67-year-old trans singer and sex worker murdered nine years ago in Ciudad Juárez. Margolles drew inspiration from the Mesoamerican tzompantli tradition of displaying skulls. She won the international competition for the commission in 2021 alongside Samson Kambalu, whose 2022 sculpture addressed colonial legacies in Africa. Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group chair Ekow Eshun called the work one of the most 'nuanced' and 'timely' ever hosted there. London deputy mayor for culture Justine Simons stated the piece is 'a celebration and an act of solidarity' with those lacking freedoms enjoyed in the UK. The masks will remain on display for two years, contributing to the ongoing diversification of London's monumental landscape, a shift accelerated by Black Lives Matter critiques.