𝓋𝑜𝒾𝒸𝑒𝓈, 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔

CMCA Summer 2022

Veronica Perez’s solo exhibition features a new body of sculptures made from braided and weaved artificial hair, a material that Perez has been deeply invested in for the past five years. The artist’s intricately detailed works act as monuments to feelings of love, loss, and grief and are symbols for exploring the forgotten and stolen histories of the Latinx diaspora.

Perez’s practice is both introspective and community-oriented. Much of this work is built in and by, communities in Maine through braiding circles­: artist-organized gatherings that use the act of hair-braiding to discuss identity, experience, and belonging. Their work is deeply informed by research on the effects of colonialism, gentrification, and the genealogy of their Puerto Rican roots. In its entirety, Perez’s work aims to combat identity erasure. They writes, “Erasure causes fractures. I am interested in finding the fractures, illuminating them, and repairing them through braiding.”

This exhibition is made possible through grants from the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts with additional support from individual donors and members. – written by curator Rachel Romanski, assistant director at the CMCA.

images by Jo Silver and Dave Clough