Een familie zit voor een huis in een nagebouwd Congolees dorp op de Wereldtentoonstelling van Antwerpen in 1894 1894

Editor: This is a photograph from 1894 by Charles Bernhoeft, titled "A family sits in front of a house in a reconstructed Congolese village at the Antwerp World Exhibition". It feels staged, and a little…sad, even. What catches your eye about this piece? Curator: Sad, you say? Yes, perhaps the sepia tones lend it that melancholic air of a bygone era. What grabs me is the complex tension: a posed portrait of a family within a constructed reality for entertainment and, let’s face it, colonial spectacle. How do you reconcile those conflicting layers, that visual paradox, you feel? Editor: It feels very…uncomfortable, thinking about the context. Knowing that they’re essentially on display. I see the ‘realism’ tag, but does it truly capture reality? Curator: Exactly! It’s realism meticulously curated, or maybe I should say manipulated. Consider the gaze of each individual – are they meeting the camera's lens or averting it? What do their postures convey, and is it their truth, or what's expected? That's where the true story flickers. Editor: So, it's about what's not said, or what's intentionally hidden within the image? The untold story? Curator: Precisely! And also, our role, today, deciphering, critiquing, giving voice to the silent narrative, you could almost feel it whispering from this piece, which echoes so vividly still. Editor: Wow, I hadn’t considered it that way. I see so many layers that I hadn’t noticed before. Curator: Me too, it's a beautiful dance we share through art. Thank you.