Pio Abad: Some Are Smarter than Others

Gasworks presents Some Are Smarter than Others, the first major UK solo exhibition by London-based, Filipino artist Pio Abad.

The exhibition looks at the cultural legacy of former Filipino dictators Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos: from the post-colonial mythology they promoted in public to the extravagant collections they surreptitiously amassed during their years in power.

Abad employs strategies of appropriation to reveal the social and political implications of objects usually consigned to the sidelines of history. Using inexpensive reproduction techniques that contrast with the opulent origins of the objects he replicates, his recent work has drawn attention to the role that certain artefacts have played or been made to perform in the recent history of the