There’s an old, Soviet-era, biology museum on the campus of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Maybe created in the 1950’s, 1960’s, ’70’s, who knows? For teaching students, the public, no one anymore? Whatever its original purpose, the museum’s collection is still mostly intact and available for appreciation and study.
One long hallway is lined with cases devoted to sea, aquatic life. Fish, snakes, lizards, frogs, sometimes in glass vials, filled with formaldehyde. The specimens and vials have been placed in appropriate environments, creating a fantasy, still life effect.
