A recent article in the New York Times discussed the traveling exhibition entitled “The Museum of Broken Relationships,” dedicated to broken hearts everywhere, that presents more than 70 bits of leftover romantic mementos from relationships that fell apart.
The exhibition features everything from romantic letters, teddy bears and photos to more unusual objects. Some examples of objects on display are an old Nokia cellphone with a tag that reads, “It lasted 300 days too long. He gave me this mobile phone so I couldn’t call him anymore”; a champagne bottle with the cork still unpopped from a first-anniversary celebration that did not go as planned; and a tiny container filled with tears a German man collected while he mourned the end of a four-year relationship.
Each object on display is anonymous, to protect the heartbroken, and is accompanied by a story/description related to the relationship behind it.
The exhibition is “an alternative to fancy imagery that makes you think what relationships are really about,” said Drazen Grubisic, who founded the Museum of Broken Relationships in Croatia, along with his ex, Olina Vistica, after the couple ended their romantic relationship in 2006.
The pair found it difficult to divide their beloved belongings after their split, so the friendly exes decided to gather similar contributions from friends who had been through the same experience. With the contributions, the two started the exhibition, which has traveled within Europe and to South Africa, the Philippines and the United States.
Grubisic believes that the exhibition provides a therapeutic benefit for the donors of the mementos.
“I witness how hard it is for people to give away these tokens that carry the energy of two people,” Grubisic says. “And once it’s done, they are liberated from the haunting memory of the past, given a fresh chance to restart all over again.”
The exhibition has also been presented in a book that represents two years of the project. For the book, the curators of the exhibition chose 100 items to present in 200 pages that feature pictures and stories.
“As we speak, some love affairs end while some others start. Such is life. It’s not all about consumption but our participation in love stories from all around the world through these tiny objects. It is just beautiful,” says Zeynep Yildirim, the director of marketing for the Istinye Park mall, a space that recently hosted the exhibition.
For more information about the Museum of Broken Relationships visit its Web site and for more information about the exhibition’s book, click here.
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