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

Working across sculpture, installation, photography and print, Abad explores how decorative and political histories intersect. Often unraveling official accounts, his recent work in particular has sought to unpack the relationships between state ideologies and the autobiographies of state actors in the recent history of his native Philippines.

Comprising entirely newly commissioned sculpture, photography and printed textiles, Abad’s exhibition at Gasworks looks at the cultural legacy of former Filipino dictators Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, focusing on the extravagant collections they amassed during their years in power, from Italian Renaissance paintings to Georgian silverware. The title of the exhibition is taken from a 1991 book of the same name by Ricardo Manapat, which exposes the details of the Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth.

Some are Smarter than Others is presented in partnership with Abad’s first museum exhibition in Manila, which runs from 28 August to 30 September 2014 at the Jose B. Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines.

Some are Smarter than Others is the fifth and final exhibition of The Civilising Process, a year-long programme of exhibitions and events at Gasworks inspired by German sociologist Norbert Elias’ eponymous 1939 book, which looks at the development of the tastes, manners and sensibilities of Western Europeans since the Middle Ages.

Pio Abad (b. 1983, Manila, Philippines) lives and works in London. Recent solo exhibitions include: Every Tool is a Weapon if You Hold it Right, Silverlens Gallery, Manila (2013) and For Anti-Imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship, Zabludowicz Collection, London (2013). His group exhibitions include: Pre-pop to Post-human: Collage in the Digital Age, A Hayward Touring Exhibition (2014); Market Forces: The Friction of Opposites, Osage Gallery, Hong Kong (2013); A Conspiracy of Detail, Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow (2013); Glasgow International 2012 and London Open, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2012).