Tentoonstelling van Engeland en Ierland in het gebouw voor techniek tijdens de World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 1893

This photograph by Charles Dudley Arnold captures the "Exhibition of England and Ireland" inside the technology building at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The picture presents a striking arrangement of forms and light. The architectural structure of the building, particularly its ceiling, is rendered in a network of lines that dominate the upper half of the composition, creating a contrast with the more defined shapes of the exhibition stalls below. The symmetry and carefully ordered layout of the exhibits—the repeating forms of pottery and decorative objects—suggest a deliberate effort to project order and industry. This organization can be interpreted as a visual expression of colonial power, where categorization and display serve to codify cultural and economic achievements. Despite its documentary purpose, Arnold’s photograph transcends mere representation, revealing the underlying ideological structures inherent in such large-scale displays of progress and civilization.