Art Culture

Monday

The Museum of Broken Relationships

A large, imposing ax. Furniture smashed to pieces by said ax. A wooden leg. Gall stones. A wedding dress, and a Vespa scooter. This seemingly random collection of objects share one thing in common; they’re all exhibits in the recently-opened Museum of Broken Relationships in Berlin. All the items on display have been kindly donated by members of the public, and all of them represent feelings of loss, pain and, in the case of the ax and destroyed furniture, revenge for those that donated mementos of their ended relationships.

The brainchild of Olinka Vistica, a Croatian artist based in Zagreb, the Museum is housed in former department store and renowned artist squat Tacheles. She formulated the idea for the show after splitting up with former boyfriend, artist and co-curator Drazen Grubisic. Whilst the exhibition displays many items that could be initially perceived as junk, many of the objects hold deep personal significance for many of the people that gave them. The wedding dress, for instance, was donated by Susanne Schikl after her marriage ended. ‘I liked the idea that I could give something away that awakened painful memories for me,‘ she said. The wooden leg was donated by a Balkan war veteran that had fell in love with the nurse in a field hospital - next to the leg, a note reads ‘The prosthetic had a longer life-span than the relationship.’

One concern often leveled at art is that it remains the province of the intellectual; that much of today’s contemporary art holds no relevance to the casual observer. Whilst this may certainly be true of some exhibitions, the Museum of Broken Relationships offers a glimpse at the emotional journeys of ordinary, regular people from all over the world, capturing an honesty and relevance seldom seen in many of today’s art galleries. The diversity of the items on display makes for interesting viewing, and the stories behind the objects themselves are given the chance to tell their story - fascinating tales that may well have gone untold, were it not for this truly original exhibition.

‘The pain caused by a break-up often produces a strong creative drive,’ said Vistica in a recent interview with German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel. ‘Some people turn to writing who had never written before and it’s this emotional experience that makes it possible.’ Whatever the motivation for donating personal belongings - whether it be exhibitionism, therapeutic relief or just ridding themselves of items no longer useful - the exhibition is sure to offer an insight into how we interact with each other, and how everyday objects can take on personalities of their own. What would you donate?