In 1882 Arabic fiction, warehouse workers seemed frozen into their tasks like exhibits

Evidence

As they make their way through the corridors of the building, they pass groups of people at work. ‘The people were busy setting out merchandise, sorting it and putting it into boxes and cases. They stared at the two of them in silence as they passed, standing quite still, not leaving their places or interrupting their work.’ After wandering silently for some time through the building, the two Egyptians realise they have lost their way completely and begin going from room to room looking for an exit. ‘But no one interfered with them’, we are told, ‘or came up to them to ask if they were lost.’ Eventually they are rescued by the manager of the store, who proceeds to explain to them how it is organised, pointing out that the merchandise being sorted and packed represents the produce of every country in the world. — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 78

Categorization

• XREF: The silent, immobile workers echo the tableau-like crowds described in Forster’s and other visitors’ accounts of Egyptian exhibitions and markets — the colonial gaze perceived labor as static.