Underground Galaxy

Muzej nauke i tehnike

The exhibition Underground Galaxy, running from 12 June to 15 September 2026 at Muzej nauke i tehnike, will present photographs and exhibits from the private collection of minerals and crystals of collector Irina Tomić.

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

In addition to the displayed exhibits, the author also presents macrophotographs of carefully selected specimens, revealing their complex structures, textures and visual details that often remain invisible to the naked eye. These scenes not only have aesthetic value but also deepen the relationship between the viewer and the collection, enabling a new reading of already familiar objects. In this way, the collection does not end with the physical possession of objects 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 sample and as an aesthetic phenomenon. The exhibition's arrangement further emphasizes this idea through the organization of photographs into "constellations", establishing a symbolic link between subterranean structures and cosmic spaces.

In a broader museological context, this exhibition points to the significance of private collections as specific forms of knowledge and experience. They arise from personal fascination and dedication, but when encountering an 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 importance of geological heritage closer to the general public, to stimulate interest in science and to preserve awareness of natural riches for future generations.

As a sort of supplement to Underground Galaxy by Irina Tomić, the exhibition also features exhibits from the collections of Muzej nauke i tehnike, Zbirke minerala i stena Rudarsko-geološkog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu and the company "Ametrin" from Subotica.

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