Subterranean Galaxy

Muzej nauke i tehnike

At the exhibition Subterranean Galaxy, from 12 June to 15 September 2026, at Muzej nauke i tehnike, photographs and exhibits from the private collection of minerals and crystals assembled by collector Irina Tomić will be presented.

The journey Irina made, from the idea to the collection, is shaped by personal stories, choices, and long-standing dedication to collecting. The selection of minerals testifies to a deep connection between scientific curiosity and personal experience, while the exhibition itself creates a meeting space between the visible and the hidden, the material and the imaginative, the scientific and the intimate.

In addition to the displayed exhibits, the author presents macrophotographs of carefully selected specimens, revealing their complex structures, textures, and visual details that often remain invisible to the naked eye. These images not only hold aesthetic value but also deepen the relationship between the viewer and the collection, allowing a new reading of familiar objects. In this way, the collection does not end with the physical possession of the items but expands into the realm of the image, where science, art, and personal experience intertwine, and each mineral acquires a dual status: as a physical object and as an image, as a scientific specimen and as an aesthetic phenomenon. The exhibition layout further emphasizes this idea by organizing the photographs into "constellations", thereby establishing a symbolic link between underground structures and cosmic spaces.

In a broader museological context, this exhibition highlights the importance of private collections as specific forms of knowledge and experience. They arise from personal fascination and dedication, but when they meet the institutional framework they gain a new dimension, becoming part of the collective understanding of nature, science, and culture.

Displaying mineral exhibits and other geological samples from museum collections and private collections is the best way to bring the significance of geological heritage closer to the general public, to stimulate interest in science, and to preserve awareness of natural resources for future generations.

As a complement to Irina Tomić's Subterranean Galaxy, the exhibition also features exhibits from the collections of Muzej nauke i tehnike, the Mineral and Rock Collections of the Faculty of Mining and Geology, University of Belgrade, and the company "Ametrin" from Subotica.

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