S.M.A.K. Exhibition Explores Spanish Artists' Use of Images as Political Resistance

The exhibition 'EUROPALIA ESPAÑA | Resistance. The Power of the Image' is currently on view at S.M.A.K. in Ghent. Curated by Marta Ramos-Yzquierdo and Sam Steverlynck, the show examines how Spanish artists have employed visual media as instruments of protest and denunciation from the Civil War era to the present. The presentation highlights works that address historical memory, political oppression, and contemporary dissent, featuring artists such as Fernando Sánchez Castillo, Ana García-Pineda, Xavier Arenós, and Núria Güell. It focuses on two key periods: the final years of Franco's dictatorship and the transition to democracy in the 1970s, and the wave of demonstrations over the last two decades. The exhibition underscores the dual capacity of images to both challenge and manipulate reality, particularly relevant in an era of digital misinformation.