Museum of Broken Relationships | Travelling Exhibition
The divorce day garden dwarf. He arrived in a new car. Arrogant, shallow and heartless. The dwarf was closing the gate that he had destroyed himself some time ago. At that moment it flew over to the windscreen of the new car, rebounded and landed on the asphalt surface. It was a long loop, drawing an arc of time – and this short long arc defined the end of love.
That cathartic outpouring is one of the many weird and wonderful descriptions to be found at the Museum of Broken Hearts Exhibition world tour.
In interview on BBC World Service, concept creators Olinka Vištica and Drazen Grubišić claimed the idea was one born out of the ashes of a shared relationship, though the website tells a decidedly less dramatic tale. If you’re looking for the relevance of the modern art movement, proof of its potential without the pretense can be found here.
The stranger the item the more compelling the story, or narrative as it were, with items ranging from your standard fair pink handcuffs, to an axe, to a prosthetic leg. All come complete with words on the relationship from whence it came. The axe was interestingly termed as a ’therapy instrument’, which suggests it’s safer for all concerned that it stays with the exhibition.
What makes this such a compelling exhibition is the fact that the well worn book of cliched modern art phrases can remain firmly in the back pocket, when describing feelings that all too many of us can share.