São Luís, MA, Brazil, 1991
Lives and works in São Luís, MA, Brazil
Silvana Mendes is a visual multi-artist whose practice manifests itself through a research on racial issues, territories and affirmation policies. An Arts graduate student at the Federal University of Maranhão, she works with collage, painting, video and photography in pursuance of new meanings for symbols and visual narratives. She also turns to mural and wheatpaste posters as support for the dissemination of what she considers a “didactic decolonizing artistic practice”, seeking to debate the places of power in works of art, the elitism and the social/racial profile of artistic movements.
Her research delves into the nuanced complexities of identity and historical revisionism. She navigates the turbulent currents of Brazilian history with her “afetocolagens” [ affectionate collages ] that excavate forgotten narratives and challenge dominant representations of blackness. She aims for the deconstruction of negative visualities and stereotypes imposed on black bodies in the course of Afro-Atlantic history. Through her intuitive erasure of backgrounds and subtle interventions, the artist breathes new life into the colonial archive of photographs, transforming them into a body of collective memory and speculative storytelling. By inviting viewers to engage with these reconstructed narratives, she catalyses conversations around historical reparation and social transformation, infusing her work with a palpable sense of affection and communal resonance.
Recent group shows include: “Encruzilhadas da Arte Afro-Brasileira”, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2024-2025); “Dos Brasis”, Sesc Belenzinho, São Paulo, SP; and Sesc Quitandinha, Petrópolis, RJ, Brazil (2023-2024); “Dona Fulô e Outras Joias”, curated by Carol Barreto, Eneida Sanches and Marília Panitz, MAC Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brasil (2024); “Um Defeito de Cor”, Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR, Rio de Janeiro, RJ; and Sesc Pinheiros, São Paulo, SP, Brazil (2022-2024); “Carolina Maria de Jesus: A Brazil for Brazilians”, Instituto Moreira Salles – IMS, São Paulo, Brazil (2021-2022); among others. In 2023, she was invited to participate in the Cairo Biennial, Egypt.
Her works are part of important institutional collections in Brazil, such as: Museu Nacional de Belas Artes; Inhotim; Museu de Arte do Rio – MAR; and Museu de Artes Visuais do Maranhão.
