Art

The Museum of Broken Relationships Is A Monument To Failed Love

Things are often displayed in museums for the value they bring to the public, but at the Museum of Broken Relationships, the greatest meaning belongs to the people who gave the pieces away. The museum was conceived in Croatia by film producer Olinka Vištica and artist Dražen Grubišić. The idea occurred to them when the two had just broken up and had to decide what to do with the objects left over from their four-year relationship. "We thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if there was a museum where you could keep those things, and they could tell your story in a way that will help you?'" Grubišić recalled in an interview with the Denver paper Westword. And so, The Museum of Broken Relationships was born.

The exhibition has toured throughout the world, including Paris, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, and Denver, and has permanent homes in Zagreb, Croatia, and Los Angeles. Anyone is invited to contribute their belongings, which gives visitors to the ever-growing museum a glimpse at the way culture subtly impacts the breakup process. Each exhibit of donated objects includes a title, the dates and length of the relationship it belongs to, and a story about it. The items range from the universal—defaced photos, hand-written notes, wedding dresses—to the wholly unique, such as the "ex axe" one man used to destroy his ex-girlfriend's furniture when she left him. Explore the science of heartbreak with the videos below.