Dr Eleri Anona Watson featured in Fourth Plinth Sculpture in Trafalgar Square

In recognition of their scholarship and community organising, Fellow in Queer Studies, Dr Eleri Anona Watson, was invited by celebrated Mexican artist Teresa Margolles to feature in her sculpture Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant), now on display on London’s Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. The sculpture features plaster casts of trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming individuals from Mexico and the UK. The sculpture commemorates the resilience of the global trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming communities and recognises the importance of queer kinship. As the plaster is exposed to the elements, the details of the faces will slowly fade, symbolising the erosion of memory and the vulnerability of marginalised communities.

Dr Watson commented: "It was an honour to contribute to Teresa Margolles’ Mil Veces un Instante. The sculpture's origins in friendship, solidarity, and grief resonate deeply with my scholarship, which explores how we, as queer people, can forge kinship and community in the face of such tragedies. My research and activism are inseparable, and being part of this collective memorial—a public monument in the heart of London—at a time when the UK government is eroding the rights of queer, trans, and nonbinary people feels especially necessary."

Photo by Dr Eleri Anona Watson