Compañerx

Compañerx (2021-2024), is a multidisciplinary artistic initiative, by photographer and visual artist Camila Falquez, anchored to the creation of the Ley Integral Tras, Ya!, a trailblazing proposed legislation, presented to the Colombian congress on July 31st 2024, that aims to materialize the rights, needs, and dreams of trans and non-binary people in Colombia.

Produced in collaboration with stylist Lorena Maza, queer writer Cesar Vallejo, and Co- lombian activists from the Plataforma Ley Integral Trans and the Liga de Salud Trans, Compañerx honors the profound vitality of trans and non-binary people in Colombia, through multiple components: an extensive series of portraits, a public performance, and a sound and video piece.

To create the portrait series, Falquez and her team photographed more than 70 trans and non-binary people from more than 30 regions and cities in Colombia, such as Medellín, Buenaventura, Risaralda, Barranquilla, Ibagué, and Valledupar.These photos, taken over two years, aim to shed light on the rich plurality of this com- munity, including Afro-Colombian people, Indigenous people, sex workers, HIV-posi- tive people, victims of Colombia’s armed conflict, and people with disabilities.As an artist, Falquez firmly believes in the power of images to challenge traditional notions of beauty and potentiality and manifest improbable scenarios. In her portraits, she creates settings, costumes, and shapes that enhance the dignity of her subjects, pre- serving the essence and reality in which their lives unfold.

With Compañerx, Falquez and her team seek to praise the profound strength and efforts of a community making history, and becoming world leaders in social activism, by re- searching, writing, and soon presenting a pioneering bill that demands tangible rights for trans and non-binary in Colombia.“As an artist, one only hopes to manifest potentials, to provide invitations to reflect and imagine alternate realities. Normally, I wonder if these invitations could turn into something more and catalyze actual social change. Compañerx has provided the extraordinary possi- bility of connecting my artistic practice to a specific and significant political moment. On this rare occasion, I feel I’ve gotten closer to creating a catalytic invitation by working in favor of a revolutionary piece of legislation that will directly enhance the lives of the people I’ve had the honor of photographing throughout Colombia.” - Camila Falquez.

Press:
New Yorker
Atmos
El Pais

For inquiries email hannah@hannahtraore.com