Maria Mendonça for the Jiu Xian Garden Village project in China

"in a lost age, surrounded by the rivers, the mountains the gentleness of the farmers"

Maria Mendonça Coustols
Photographer & Plastic Artist

This last residence in China,
in Jiu Xian Garden Village,
in a lost age,
surrounded by the rivers,
the mountains
the gentleness of the farmers
Lao Tseu in every corner of your mind
Made me dive into another universe
Where I felt totally emmersed in myself in this text written hundred years ago by F Pessoa

“Time and things have a different meaning
You don’t want to include Time in your scheme.
You don’t want to think of things as time – bound, you want to
Think of them as things.
You don’t want to separate them from themselves, treating
Them as things present.
you shouldn’t even treat them as real things,
you shouldn’t treat them as anything-
You should see them, just see them
See them until you can’t think about them,
See them, without time or space,
See and be able to put aside all but the seeable.”

about Maria Mendonça

Maria, a mother of 3 and for now a grandmother of 7, photographs, paints and sculpts with nature.
Her art is transversal as each of Maria’s personal and professioal steps are an extension to her artistic world, which is reflected in all that surrounds her.
She presented a few private exhibits at Hotel de Vibraye Paris 1981; Castelnau des Fieumarcon, France 2002; Palacio Belmonte, Lisbon, 2003; Palais du Gouverneur, Lectoure , France 2004; and participated in several collective exhibitions in Parede, Portugal 1973; Way of Arts, 2004, (installation); Way of Arts, 2005, (paintings).
Private collections in Portugal, France, Italy, Great Britain, USA, Australia.