Pio Abad UK, 1983

In his series, Notes on Decomposition, Abad attempts to map our current state of cultural disenchantment through objects bought, sold and sequestered from 1991 to the present – objects that embody specific moments of political and economic decay over the past twenty years, to become an inventory of neoliberal fantasy through decorative things. Since 2014, Abad has been interested in the auction as a site for excavating these narratives and the auction catalogue as a document where the private histories of public personages are laid bare. The pair of elephant figurines depicted in Notes on Decomposition (Lot no. 235) and described in the Christie’s auction catalogue as Chinese export Canton famille rose porcelain elephant-form candle holders, once occupied a pride of place in Ronald Reagan’s private residence at the White House and were subsequently auctioned off in 2016, shortly after the death of Nancy Reagan. The Reagans had a vast collection of elephant figurines, the animal that has been conscripted by the Republican Party as its official symbol since 1864.