“Perfection of Evolution – Unveiling” at the Požega City Museum

“Perfection of Evolution – Unveiling” at the Požega City Museum

Požega City Museum
23 August 2018 at 7:00 PM
24 August – 14 September 2018

The exhibition Perfection of Evolution – Unveiling was presented at the Požega City Museum from 24 August to 14 September 2018, with its official opening held on 23 August at 7:00 PM.

The exhibition includes 24 large-format photographs showing beetles from the highly valuable Mikšić Beetle Collection and minerals from the Croatian Natural History Museum’s collections.

The Mikšić Beetle Collection is one of the most significant collections of the Croatian Natural History Museum and is kept under special conditions due to the sensitivity of its specimens, making it inaccessible to the general public. This exhibition therefore makes it accessible to a wider audience through photography. The photographic display is complemented by original beetle specimens and mineral samples shown in the photographs.

What do the photographs reveal?

In the world of insects and minerals, almost all colours and their shades exist. This exhibition presents only some interesting examples of their correspondences. Minerals from mineralogical-petrographic collections and beetles from the Mikšić Beetle Collection were photographed, highlighting similarities in colour and pattern. Some beetle species blend so closely with minerals that they are difficult to distinguish at first glance. Others match several different minerals in colour, depending on how light is refracted from their surfaces.

Although colour was the primary selection criterion, in some cases the similarity between beetles and minerals is also achieved through surface structure, body shape, or a combination of these elements. We hope visitors will enjoy the exhibition as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Exhibition authors: Nives Borčić, Petar Crnčan, PhD Iva Mihoci i Ivan Razum
Photographers: Nives Borčić
Composition: Nives Borčić, Petar Crnčan
Specimen preparation: Nives Borčić, Petar Crnčan, Marin Šoufek, Višnja Lisičić, Silvana Sušić
Leaflet design: Nikša Martinac
Publisher: Požega City Museum
For the publisher: Maja Zebčević Matić, ravnateljica
Print run: 200 copies