Trans and American artist Cassils’ Becoming an Image is a four-part artwork: performance, photographs, sculpture and sound, which digs into the resilience and advocacy of the LGBTQ+ community. The piece begins with a performance where Cassils punches a 2,000-pound lump of clay in the dark while being flash photographed, a metaphor of how society turns a blind eye to the violence enacted on queer people unless the media sensationalizes it.
The performance piece, along with the photographs and clay sculpture that document it, offers a visceral exploration of gender identity, violence and trauma recovery by making sure that viewers confront the harsh realities faced by transgender and queer individuals—especially hate crimes against them. At its core, Becoming an Image is a powerful call to action for gender equality and social justice for queer people, reflecting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality and Reduced Inequalities.
With each punch, strike and kick, Cassils harnesses their skills as a boxer/fighter (having professionally trained in Mixed Martial Arts). Allowing them to sculpt the clay with their body in a primal display of strength and determination, harnessing and releasing their frustrations on violent attacks directed towards queer people. The performance is done in total darkness, leaving Cassils’ audience with only the sounds of Cassils' grunts and the clay’s resistance as it takes on their hits, creating an atmosphere charged with tension and anticipation.
In this darkness stands photographer Manuel Vason, whose camera adds another layer of complexity to the performance. Vason circles the fight, capturing split-second moments and illuminating them simultaneously with his camera flash. Here, he becomes a silent witness and documentarian of the violence enacted upon the clay. The resulting still images depict Cassils in motion, sweating and grimacing, a visual record of the performance that captures the moment's raw energy and intensity.
Through the physically laborious act of sculpting the clay, Cassils confronts the viewer with the effort required to maintain a certain level of hatred towards the LGBTQ+ community, as they can also be heard grunting and heavy breathing as they throw their punches. This noise later becomes Becoming an Image’s sound piece. The malleable mound of clay, which stands even after taking a beating, which becomes Becoming an Image’s sculptural element, symbolizes the resilience and perseverance of individuals within the LGBTQ+ community as they face systemic violence and discrimination.
Commissioned by the ONE Institute, the oldest active LGBTQ+ organization in the United States, Becoming an Image carries a deep sense of historical significance and political urgency. By addressing the often overlooked narratives of the violence and hate crimes directed towards transgender people and the queer community, Cassils’ piece stands at the intersection of gender identity, violence and activism.
The performance calls people to question the roles of bystanders (audiences), the media (photographer), the perpetrator (the artist) and the victim (the clay) in gender and sexuality-based violence directed toward the queer community. The piece invites its audience to challenge their own biases and assumptions on the roles of each of these players and to think about what role they have to play and what role they can play to create a safe and welcoming society for all actively. Cassils’ work later went beyond the confines of its performance space, as large-scale photographs and installations of the resulting beaten clay are shown across the country and internationally. These events further serve as monuments to the resilience of the LGBTQ+ community.
Cassils’ Becoming an Image is more than just a performance – it is a powerful statement of resilience, advocacy and solidarity to the LGBTQ+ community. By confronting the viewer with the raw reality of violence and discrimination faced by transgender and queer individuals, Cassils challenges their viewers to imagine a world where gender equality and social justice are not just ideals, but realities. As their audience bears witness to the transformative power of art, they are reminded of our shared humanity and our collective responsibility to create a more inclusive and equitable society.