Gema Polanco transforms Museo de Artes Decorativas for PHotoESPAÑA 2026

For the 29th edition of PHotoESPAÑA, Gema Polanco presents "Toda mi casa es un altar" at the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas (MNAD) in Madrid, running until October 25, 2026. The site-specific intervention occupies the museum's second floor, expanding photography into performative, bodily, and sensory realms. It explores how objects like dowries, tableware, and images are inherited as devices to preserve heritage and tradition, questioning what makes a space a home worthy of care, faith, or memory. The installation features a large suspended tapestry as a welcome threshold, followed by flags, collages, costumes, amulets, and talismans that invite viewers to reconsider everyday materials. Polanco's practice draws on artisanal processes, self-taught spirit, and popular culture. Born in Valencia in 1992, she holds a BA in Photography from London College of Communication (2015), a postgraduate degree from PHotoEspaña (2016), and an MA in Visual Arts and Education from the University of Barcelona (2017). Her work has been exhibited at Circulation(s) in Paris, PHotoEspaña, PhotoAlicante, Art Nou, LOOP Barcelona, Miami New Media Festival, and Aragón Park, and is held in collections including CA2M Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, IVAM, DKV Collection, Kells Collection, Universitat Pública de València Collection, Studiolo Collection, and Servais Family Collection.