De afdeling Oceanië op de Internationale Koloniale Expositie te Parijs 1931 1931

Curator: It's a strikingly ambiguous piece, wouldn't you agree? It is a print on metal created by A. Mouroux and the work is titled "De afdeling Oceanië op de Internationale Koloniale Expositie te Parijs 1931". Editor: My first impression is one of… uneasiness. The patinated metal, almost coin-like, seems to memorialize something that perhaps shouldn’t be celebrated. Curator: Exactly. It commemorates the Oceania section of the Paris Colonial Exposition of 1931, which, contextually, showcased colonized peoples as evidence of imperial power. Let's consider the material itself—metal. Durable, stamped, reproducible. Think about the message it sends when an object like this is mass-produced as a souvenir or promotional item. Editor: The circular form is interesting, implying the global reach of this colonial project. And there's an idealized portrait on one side—likely meant to represent the "native," or rather a constructed image of them, surrounded by these decorative seashells. On the reverse is the colonial exhibition, that building of fabricated dreams. Curator: The production of these tokens—and think of the labour involved in their creation, distribution, the very *circulation* of this imagery – highlights how colonialism wasn't just about governance or exploitation; it was about the manufacture and consumption of ideas. How value and taste were imposed. Editor: And who was consuming these objects and the ideology they perpetuated? That Exposition drew millions, shaping public perception and justifying the expansion of colonial empires. What a troubling case of public art performing the role of state propaganda. Curator: The creation of this type of objects serves as a reminder of art’s capacity to reflect prevailing power structures. Editor: This work has helped me to reframe how an artifact, can be more than decorative, that by the power of its construction is itself a cultural record.