Nagebouwde straat uit Algiers op de Wereldtentoonstelling van 1900 1900

This stereoscopic photograph captures a street scene in the re-created Algerian quarter at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris. The archway, adorned with the sign "Entrée," serves as a potent symbol of access and cultural encounter. The arch motif has a long history; from ancient triumphal arches celebrating military victories to its appropriation in religious architecture, symbolizing a gateway to the sacred. Here, it acts as a portal to a constructed exoticism, a controlled experience of the ‘other’. The crowds gathered before it evoke the ancient Roman processions, but now, instead of honoring emperors, they are here to consume a spectacle. This constructed Algerian street is more than just an architectural exhibit; it is a symbolic bridge, albeit a fraught one, connecting cultures in a way that reinforces the power dynamics of the colonial era. The photograph captures the spirit of cultural exchange and the psychological desire to explore the unknown, even when packaged as a simulacrum.