Taking Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos as his primary subjects, Pio Abad investigates the myriad ways material culture speaks to economies of authoritarianism and kleptocracy. Spanning almost ten years of the artist’s practice, “Fear of Freedom Makes Us See Ghosts” was a homecoming of sorts for the Manila-born, mostly London-based Abad. The exhibition opened weeks before the Philippine national election that saw a Marcos return to political power as the late Filipino dictator’s scion, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., won the presidency. Abad’s practice is two-pronged: He gathers evidence of the