Pio Abad

Pio Abad appropriates artifacts in order to illuminate fraught historical narratives. Particularly concerned with the history of his native Philippines, Abad refabricates objects from the country’s past, such as ephemera from the collection of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos—scarfs, plates, and dresses—that spotlight the decorative aesthetics of the Marcos regime and its role in the government’s political and social vision. “The strength of my work comes from the undiscovered connections that I attempt to establish between things, objects, and events, and the ways these connections are presented,” the artist has said. “I’m constantly finding new ways of working that are dictated by the stories and links that I want to share.”