​Kindred, painted steel, San Antonio, Texas, 2025

Ashley Perez depicts two hands joined by rippling water. Memory and identity are central themes in Perez’s distinguished body of work. Rich with embedded meaning, each symbol is born from historic and personal narratives before, during, and after regional colonization. Many nearby
residents are descendants of the San Antonio Missions' original inhabitants. A Native American medicine wheel, embedded inside a radial family tree, alludes to
this shared connection. Mesquite pods, a corn cob with husk, and wheat grains adorn the backs of the fingers. Native Americans called the Mesquite tree the
“tree of life”. Every part of the tree, from beans to bark, was used to provide shelter and food. This pattern shifted to corn and wheat after colonization. Water is a constant that connects the past to the present. Water cycles from the ground, across the hands, and back to the earth. The rich umbers, yellows, and cream colors reference fresco paintings at nearby Mission San Jose.
Inspired by the real hands of mission descendant Vincent Huizar, the hands are open in a gesture of shared friendship. The artist hopes visitors feel the sense of connectivity that pervades this community.

Collection of the City of San Antonio commissioned through the Department of Arts & Culture’s Public Art Division.