Book excerpt: In this fascinating collection of photographs, the Belgian artist Ives Maes explores the architecture of world expos. He sets the faded glory of these sites against the ambitious and utopian project, full of promise, represented by the first world exhibition more than a century and a half ago. Maes shows how time has taken its toll on these architectural monuments and pavilions, now decayed, abandoned or torn from their original context. In this comprehensive book, Ludion sets Maes's photographs alongside images of the Great Exhibition in London (1851) through to the most recent expo in Shanghai, 2010. The images are accompanied by essays from Anna Jackson (Victoria & Albert Museum), Elena Filipovic (WIELS) and Catherine L. Futter (Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) on the history of world fairs, the role of photography and the sculptural character of Ives Maes's photographic work. 0Exhibition: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, USA (28.6.-28.10.2012).