Pio Abad’s series of intricate ink drawings, 1897.76.36.18.6, juxtaposes the Benin Bronzes held in the British Museum’s collection with similarly sized stacks of ordinary objects, like a house plant, can of spam, or his daughter’s bottle, found in the artist’s home. The works were prompted by the coincidental discovery that Abad’s London apartment is located in a building that served as the storage and staging post for the British Army during its colonial invasion of Benin. A hallmark of this series is the screen-printed black-and-white ruler along the edge of the works that reference the measurements used in Western museology; the arbitrary measurement is both critical and playful. In a parody of museum accession codes, the series title combines the year of that expedition, 1897, with Abad’s postcode. By locating this historical nexus, between the quotidian domestic object and the contested cultural artifact, Abad invites a reflection on imperial extraction and the enduring history of colonialism. 

Abad debuted his 1897.76.36.18.6 series at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in 2024. This exhibition was shortlisted for the 2024 Turner Prize and presented at the Tate Britain, London in 2024–2025.