Compañerx (2021-2024), is a multidisciplinary artistic initiative, by photographer and visual artist Camila Fálquez, 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, Fálquez 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, Fálquez 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, Fálquez 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.
The artistic performance of Compañerx took place on July 31st, 2024, to accompany the official filing to congress of the Ley Integral Tras in Bogotá, Colombia. In partnership with Liga de Salud Trans and Plataforma Ley Integral Trans, Ya!, Falquez directed more than 150 trans and non-binary performers and activists that travelled to the capital from more than 30 regions to be a part of that historical moment.
The performance was Led by the sound of a cumbia gaita, played by Ceiba an indigenous trans musician, and the chants of La Poderosa, a renowned afrocolombian queer activist and singer from Urabá. To their music followed a procession of 50 large fabrics, printed with the portraits of the project shot by Falquez and weaved into the 67 articles of the Ley Integral Trans.
The march headed towards Plaza de Bolívar, where Colombia’s congress is located, and where the Ley Integral Trans, was to be filed minutes after the arrival of the performance to the square.
Upon the arrival to Plaza de Bolívar, a red and circular large scale structure designed by architect Sarai Olabarrieta, served as a space to elevate the portraits, creating an ephemeral sculpture with the aim of humanizing and dignifying Colombia’s trans and non-binary bodies in a specific political moment crucial to the history and survival of the community.
Compañerx became a rare opportunity for active contemplation and dialogue between photography and legal instruments and between hegemonic spaces and social efforts to achieve equality and liberation.
Camila Fálquez is a New York-based photographer of Colombian heritage, born in Mexico City and raised in Spain. Her work merges the traditions of fashion and portrait photography with a keen focus on contemporary social and gender diversity. By channeling surrealist conventions and employing a bold color palette, Falquez elevates and empowers her subjects, reimagining their presence through a unique visual language.
In 2022, Fálquez held her first solo exhibition in New York at Hannah Traore Gallery, titled Gods That Walk Among Us. In 2023, she was honored as the Fashion Photographer of the Year at the Latin American Fashion Awards and that same year Falquez was awarded the TD Bank and NADA Curated Spotlight award. In 2024, she was invited to be a part of The University of Tulsa convening Sovereign Futures with her performance piece with artist Luis Rincon Alba, Chant Down.
Fálquez’s photographs are in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Dean Collection; The Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey; and The Perez Art Museum in Miami, Florida; The Ann and Mel Schaffer Collection, among others.
Fálquez’s photography explores the intersection of fabric, identity, and historical narrative. Her art reinterprets the traditional use of draped fabric in Western painting, transforming it into a contemporary symbol that challenges and redefines concepts of power and beauty. Projects such as Compañera (2023-2024), a multi-media photography installation and performance advocating for trans and non-binary rights in Colombia; Being (2018-2023), a visual manifesto that reclaims and redefines monumental ideals; all reflect her commitment to amplifying marginalized voices and celebrating diverse experiences.
Ley Integral Trans ¡YA! is a national platform that brings together more than two hun- dred trans activists and organizations from Colombia to seek a gender identity law in the country that protects, guarantees, and promotes the rights of the trans and non-bi- nary population.
Liga de Salud Trans is a civil society organization that defends human rights, estab- lished with the objective of contributing to the improvement of healthcare for Trans people by developing research, political advocacy, and providing a model of sensitive support for trans people and their caregivers.
