The Museum of Broken Relationships is not the sandpit of sorrow that you might initially expect given its name. Amidst the melancholy, lies an unyielding undercurrent of resilience and hope.
Located in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city, the museum explores the theme of failed relationships through a growing collection of personal mementoes that have been donated to the museum post breakup. It’s an original yet simple idea that resonates with audiences from around the world.
The objects on display range from the sentimental to the mundane and everything in between, reflecting the idiosyncratic nature of relationships and the meanings we attach to them. Each object unfolds a story. They are sometimes funny, often heartfelt, and other times heart-wrenching.
The personal nature of the exhibits and accompanying narratives, creates a powerful human connection and transcends traditional museum exhibits.
Unlike conventional museum objects, value isn’t placed on how how significant it is to a particular important field of interest like art, history, or science, nor does it relate to its scarcity or uniqueness, instead its value is placed on the personal story behind an otherwise rather unremarkable item.
How the collection came about
Emphasising how life imitates art, the museum started out in 2006 as a temporary project that artists Grubisic and Vistica, former lovers, presented at the Zagreb Salon, an art biennial. Inspired by their own break-up, the first exhibits were sourced from objects they accumulated while together, along with a few items donated from friends, but once the show ended, the couple said they began receiving emails and calls asking them to present versions of the installation worldwide.
Soon, the two were staging pop-up exhibitions in venues around the world, and soliciting more donations in each place. In 2010 they opened the museum to permanently display their collection. To date, the museum has received over 4000 donations, far more than what’s possible to exhibit at any one time, which uniquely positions the curators to rotate objects regularly, and when desired.
Through the exhibits the museum provides something tangible to the intangible expressions of heartbreak. In other terms, the objects are an abstraction, a visual representation of failed relationships .
Cathartic experience
The Museum of Broken Relationships is not merely a mausoleum for lost love; rather, it serves as a testament to the human capacity for growth and renewal.
A journey through the museum can be healing, particularly for those navigating their own breakup or unresolved endings. The complexities of love and loss are often difficult to express within the confines of language, but the displays at the museum set out to overcome this.
The act of donating items has also been reported for its therapuetic effects. For some it symbolises letting go of the past or giving closure to oneself. For others it’s a sort of reclaiming back power, while many simply like the idea of contributing to the museum’s exhibitions. Whatever, the reason, donating helps re-shift the narrative of a failed relationship into something more positive.
What you'll discover inside
The exhibits are truly diverse, not just in terms of the items, but the storytelling even moreso.
To give you an understanding of how I was able to easily whittle away two hours in such a relatively small museum, I’ve included some of the donations with accompanying text. In their own way, each one of them struck a chord with me.
The Book – ‘I can make you thin’
"This was a present from my ex-fiance... Need I really continue? There were many issues which resulted in our separation, but for me the issue was his obsessive controlling nature. My overall appearance was a problem for him - hence the 'I can make you thin' book. The book pretty much symbolises that relationship for me. When the book was given, it hurt my feelings immensely, but now in reflection I find it humorous. I also have an overwhelming sense of relief - thank god I never married the guy! This book is one of the last remnants of that relationship and I am more than happy to part with it."
You go girl.
Some captions, like this one, sizzled with sass and tenacity, and I found myself smiling in support like a cheerleader. I can really sense the muscle it took for her to get from feelings of ‘hurt’ to the feeling of utter ‘relief’.
Really though, if someone bought me this book, they would immediately feel the weight of it slapping their sorry ass out of the door.
The Twenty-Seven-Year-Old Scab From My First Lover’s Wound
"In 1990 my friend, my first great love, had a motorbike accident. Its consequence was severe road rash with several large scabs. The accident shocked me although nothing serious happened. From then on, I had a constant fear that I might lose my dearest one. For that reason, I kept one of his scabs after it had fallen off, with the (not so serious) idea in mind of having him cloned in the future if need be. I was studying biology at the time. In the end, my constant fear for him led to our breakup. Paradoxically, my fear caused exactly that which frightened me most. I have kept the scab to this day, for twenty-seven years. Although I have since become a biologist, I have long lost the desire to clone my then partner. My fears, however, I still struggle with..."
I told you the donations were diverse, and this one literally puts love under the miscroscope.
Isn’t it funny how when you love someone, all the things you might usually find disgusting on someone else, doesn’t seem to apply to them?
The White Dress Shoes
Providing context is essential to the success of the museum. Take for example, the display of a white pair of shoes. They don’t mean very much until you read the donor’s description:
"She tried to impose her fashion sensibilities on me. I hate white dress shoes. It is a culture that will forever be alien to me. I am just glad that I don't have to occasionally wear them to keep her happy any more"
Admittedly, this one made me chuckle, but it also got me thinking. In the end it didn’t really seem to be about the shoes, but what they represented – doing things you don’t want to do to appease someone else. Generally I believe healthy relationships involve elements of compromise, but we must also respect other people’s boundaries. Honestly, I’d be pissed if my partner wanted me to wear those shoes. Urgh.
(For real though, some things might be worth fighting over, but geez, shoes definitely shouldn’t be one of them).
The Wedding Dress
Perhaps the hardest hitting exhibit was a wedding dress. Before reading the accompanying text, I assumed it was going to be about a bride-to-be jilted at the altar. I’m not sure why that was my expectation, maybe I’ve watched too many romantic romcoms, but that wasn’t the case with one.
"We met through friends in 2014, decided to get married on 24.05.2015, and got engaged on 01.08.2015. His biggest dream was to have a summer wedding, so we had to wait a year. We had chosen 09.07.2016 as our wedding date and began preparing for it. A week before he passed away, we had our pre-wedding photo shoots. He had left his work at the airport on the evening of 28.06.2016 and was waiting for his bus to go home when he got caught up in a terrorist attack. My wedding dress is the best representation of the day I want to remember him by."
How are you supposed to heal from such untimely loss, and in such a devastating way? I’m not sure you ever can, rather it’s something you learn to live with in the best way can manage.
I couldn’t help think of this women’s generosity. I wondered what her reasons were for donating such a precious item, and I couldn’t help but feel it was for the purpose of helping others. For anyone experiencing grief: you are not alone.
In many ways, the museum doesn’t just explore the fragility of relationships, but life itself, while celebrating the spirit of resilience that emerges from loss.
Address: Ćirilometodska ul. 2, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
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