The 1924 British Empire Exhibition reflected a transitional moment in British colonial policy, according to Will Rea, shifting toward a more paternalistic and humanitarian self-image. Despite its emphasis on progress and modernization, the exhibition continued to portray Africa primarily through traditional crafts and stereotypes of backwardness. Rea contrasts this portrayal with the work of Audu Mai Alijeta, whose calabash carvings depict a modern Nigerian society, suggesting that African understandings of modernity were more advanced and complex than the image presented by British imperial organizers.