Feelmuseum

Croatia has a Museum of Broken Relationships, which exhibits the remnants of failed loves. By contributing to the museum, a person might get over their loss and hardship through creating something new: it is understandable, relate-able art.


The museum's site states:


"Whatever the motivation for donating personal belongings – be it sheer exhibitionism, therapeutic relief, or simple curiosity – people embraced the idea of exhibiting their love legacy as a sort of a ritual, a solemn ceremony.  Our societies oblige us with our marriages, funerals, and even graduation farewells, but deny us any formal recognition of the demise of a relationship, despite its strong emotional effect.  In the words of Roland Barthes in A Lover's Discourse: 'Every passion, ultimately, has its spectator... (there is) no amorous oblation without a final theatre.' "


If you have anything to contribute, be it shoes, a lock of hair, or a love letter, you can find the information on their website.

maybe a champagne bottle, like this one from a Turkish woman. 

This is the exhibit at a mall in Istanbul. Check out the New York Times article 

I wonder if parting with an object truly helps. But one must admit that most people are hoarders and cling to anything that they see as representative of an experience. Just think about the rise and rise of digital photography: we have a need to document every moment of our lives to make sure that we do not miss something. But I think that in capturing the moment, we miss being in it. I would rather have the memory of an instance than an image to which I have no real relationship. maybe we do not trust our memory enough. Memories can be changed and altered, memories are made by your own selection as to what to save and what to discard. 


I like these sad stories. It proves that we all share the need for love, that we all suffer at the hands  of love, but also that there is hope for moving on. For seeing the relationship for what it was: a period of time, an experience, but not something to pine after for years to come. 


There is a nice BBC video about the travelling exhibit, watch it here.



Perhaps the museum will bring its treasures to your doorstep soon. Perhaps your own object will be exhibited, or perhaps you can relate to those on display. In the end it is all about appreciation and love, is it not ?!  







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