Replica van een dorp uit Dahomey op de World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 1893

Editor: This albumen print from 1893 captures Charles Dudley Arnold’s photograph, titled “Replica van een dorp uit Dahomey op de World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893”. The composition, being an image within an open book, immediately gives me a sense of documentation, almost anthropological. What do you see when you look at this piece? Curator: That feeling of documentation is key. This photograph represents a moment steeped in the complex history of world expositions. These fairs were staged as celebrations of progress but also acted as platforms for colonial power. This image depicts a constructed “Dahomey village” at the Chicago World’s Fair. Notice the people milling around – predominantly white Americans – observing the individuals who were brought to populate this artificial village. Editor: So, it’s not just a simple portrayal of a Dahomey village but a deliberate staging? Curator: Precisely. It reflects a very specific, and problematic, power dynamic. Consider the fair's role in shaping public perception. How do you think seeing this replica village might have influenced visitors’ understanding – or misunderstanding – of Dahomey culture? Editor: I imagine it presented a skewed, likely stereotypical, view. It’s unsettling to think about the people from Dahomey as being put on display in this way. I’m also struck by how this photograph, seemingly intended to document, now reveals so much more about the context in which it was created. Curator: Absolutely. It makes you wonder about the intentions behind these images and the long-lasting impact they have had on shaping our historical consciousness, doesn't it? I’m particularly mindful of whose voices are missing from this historical record. Editor: It’s really given me a new way of seeing historical photographs. They are never neutral; they reflect the biases of the time.