Etched In Light channels the affective energies of lie-ins, die-ins, and the historic NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. These billboards embody the presence of trans* and non-binary bodies, capturing moments of intimacy, resilience, and tender connection. The billboards represent details from Cassils's large-scale cyanotypes, which were created with the National Center for Transgender Equality and over 100 trans* artists at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, 2024. Performers were invited to lie upon a 15 x 60-foot canvas coated in a photographic solution for 25 minutes, allowing the sun to register their exposure and water to develop a massive camera-free photographic print that emerged in real-time.

The collective body compositions interpret the themes of self-actualization and empowerment against an antagonistic political backdrop where trans* people face severe discrimination, stigma, and systemic inequality. This work continues Cassils's engagement with questions of trans* visibility: exploring abstraction as a tactic that refuses the surveilling and voyeuristic gaze leveled at trans* bodies. Simultaneously, Etched In Light creates a powerful testament to LBGTQIA+'s history, endurance, presence, and active resistance.

Etched in Light Billboard Project is part of Movements, Cassils’ solo exhibition, on view from November 15, 2024, through February 3, 2025.

Contributors:

Creator, Director, & Lead Artist: Cassils

Director: PJ Raval

Producer: Farihah Zaman

Performance Producer & Impact Strategist: Courtney Cook

Performance Producer: Buffy Sierra

Director of Photography: Ray Whitehouse, Rose Bush

Choreographer: Jasmine Albuquerque

Costume Design: Cathay Cooper

Camera Operator: Bella Graves

Job Operator: Hannah Oneda

Assistant Camera: Sage Larson

Sound Recordist: Caitlyn Mason

Production Assistants: Bradley Sandifor, Jocelyne Sedjro, Meghan Clayton, Sean Frost

Editor: Jason J. Chen

Assistant Editors: Lucas Ward, Helena Rodriquez

Dance Captains: Kaydence De Mere, Jasmine Lin, B Gosse, Canyon Carbollosa

Vocalists: Dorian Wood, Roco Cordova, Carmina Escobar

Rally Performers: Hope Giselle, Michael Love Michael, Angelica Ross, Viva Ruiz

Cyanotype Performers: Nelly Achkehen Sarkissian, Abel Andrade, Sam Are, Kellan Beal, Caroline Bell, Lu Biondi, Daniel Brody, Huga Cassian, Airin (erin) Young Chen, Elum Clairmont, Lola Clairmont, Eel Costello, Toni DeVincentis, Sawyer DeVuyst, Kasey Enright, Evan Garza, Eric Gottesman, Sika Bigio Gottesman, Kris Grey, Fitz Griffith, Frankie Gunn, Shyloh Hadley, Max Hartenstein, Parker Hayford, Cooper Joslin, Houry Kandoyan, Beal Kellan, Fayn Kelly, Floyd M Kessler, Micah Koppl, Cameron Kuck, Alexandra Kyrie, Lia Lake, Moss Ying Loke O’Connor, Moss Lovejoy, Jamie Bee MacDonald, Eso Malflor, Jackson Margolis, Tómas Marquardt, Cecil May, Em Miller, Mariah Morton, Cameron Mulrooney, Bradley E. Murphey, Jess Posner, Riven Ratanavanh, Ales Roxborough Davis, Miranda Runyon, Lucifer, Benny Siam, Sam Levi Sizemore, Sawyer Smith, SA Smythe, Fay Tian, Anna Ticknor, Josiah Waker, Josiah Walker, Sam Wrigglesworth, Dei:iewñnahkwa

Graphic Design: Illyana Bocanegra

Cyanotype Design: Catherine Davies Bell

Still Photography: Ashley J. Mitchell, Tracy Toscano

National Center for Trans Equality Team: Illyana Bocanegra, Alex Del Rosario, Sybastian Smith, Dr. Devon Ojeda

Communication Marketing: Courtney Cook

Music: Dorian Wood - “Ancestors Sing”, Dorian Wood - “Gracias La Vida”, Dorian Wood - “Kletka of Sniag”, Dorian Wood - “The World’s Gone Beautiful”, Blood is Here - “Live at Human Resources LA”

Thank you: Kris Grey, Lane Hardwell, Gayatri Gopinath, Paul Faber, Coleen Keegan, Brandee Caoba, Matthew Contos, Tracy Toscano, SA Smyth, Alulcard Mendoza, Cascade Wilhelm