Expositie van de Stollwerck-firma in de wereldtentoonstelling te Antwerpen 1894

Th. Lantin captured this image of the Stollwerck chocolate company’s exhibit at the Antwerp World Fair. World Fairs were staged to display industrial advancement and international cooperation, but they also were tools of colonial power. Stollwerck’s elaborate presentation was a declaration of German industrial might and global ambition, using the seductive power of chocolate. These fairs were theatrical stages where nations performed their identities, often at the expense of marginalized people. They were also places where the seeds of future political tensions were sown. How can we reconcile the celebration of innovation with the darker realities of colonialism and industrial exploitation that underpinned it? This photograph invites us to reflect on the complex layers of history embedded in even the sweetest of commodities.