Trans and non-binary ‘life masks’ to display in Trafalgar Square

The “life masks” of 740 trans and non-binary people make up the newest installation to top the fourth plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square. Artist Teresa Margolles, a former forensic pathologist who also works with corpses from the morgue attached to her Mexico City studio, was inspired by the Mesoamerican tradition of tzompantli — racks displaying the skulls of war captives or sacrificial victims.

While the subjects of Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant) were, thankfully, alive, the work speaks to the violence faced by the trans community, especially in Latin America. The plaster masks will slowly degrade over two years in the London rain. “That’s the whole point,” she told The Guardian.