Silvana Mendes is taking part in the exhibition “A Onda é o caminho do vento” at the Centro Cultural Vale Maranhão (CCVM), curated by Samantha Moreira. The show establishes a dialogue with the artist Tassila Custodes.

Mendes presents five works that combine collage, painting and site-specific installations, engaging with the force of water. In Maré Baixa (“Low Tide”), she unveils a monumental piece made from 70 metres of brown paper, painted in golden tones and torn by hand, evoking the movement of waves. Meanwhile, Maré Alta (“High Tide”) uses 320 metres of fabric, dyed blue by hand at the Estaleiro Escola de São Luís, with the support of local boatmen who produce sails for vessels in the region.

The exhibition also sets aside an intimate space for memory. The artist presents sculptures in plaster and acrylic, produced using 3D printing and finished by hand with seashells. The works Estrela Guia (“Guiding Star”) and Estrela Cadente (“Falling Star”) pay tribute to her father, whose absence, approaching 18 years, is re-signified through art. “He was a father who always encouraged me to pursue my dreams, to study and to build my career. These pieces represent this relationship between absence and presence that guides me,” Mendes explains. At the centre of the exhibition design, a traditional single-trunk canoe from Maranhão floats suspended, carrying 13,000 seashells painted gold, bringing together the poetics of the two artists, who met at different stages of their professional development and now celebrate a deep friendship.

Completing the dialogue, Custodes presents Vira onda que encontra seu próprio mar (“Become a wave that finds its own sea”), which combines two sculptures and an installation.

The exhibition runs until September 2026.