verónica pérez

Lives and works in Westbrook, ME, USA

Artist statement

verónica a. pérez is a sculptor deeply engaged in the intersection of sculpture, history, and identity. They use their personal narrative, along with community collaboration, to address themes of erasure and foster interdependence, building humanity and empathy. She does this by hosting community workshops called braiding circles, where participants engage in intentional conversations about identity while braiding textiles. From this way of working, she creates social sculptures*. The psychological effects of white supremacy inform her exploration into the impacts of colonialism on identity. Pérez's familial history, particularly her father Miguel's experience with the Puerto Rican diaspora, contributes to a fractured family narrative and a distorted sense of identity. Pérez addresses ongoing colonization and historical injustices to Boriken, such as forced sterilization and land displacement, through her work, shedding light on complex intersections and inviting reflection on enduring legacies of oppression and displacement. Pérez employs materials such as sugar, hair, beads, and textiles to explore the history of colonization, aiming to illuminate and repair its fracturing effects and bring awareness for systemic change. Material culture is important as a means of deepening conversations about diasporic history and identity in a palpable, innate way. Sugar reveals itself as an emotional and movable material in her work, historical silencing - referencing the silencing of...

Artwork