Olinka Vistica

The Museum of Broken Relationships - Modern Love in 203 Everyday Objects by Olinka Vistica is a collection of items donated by those hurt by love. Each artefact is stunningly photographed and accompanied by a short story or explanation. Often including the location and duration of the relationship, they provide a rare glimpse into a person's heartbreak and lost love.

Every reader will be able to relate to the stories and I was touched by the emotionally charged personal accounts.

The collection includes a variety of heartbreaking, amusing, petty, bizarre and downright surprising contributions. It was hard to believe the donors could bear to part with some of the artefacts donated, while others were filled with cathartic cleansing. While many of the donors seemed ready to move on, others continue to carry their heartbreak.

I enjoyed reading the stories and was surprised how many came from short relationships (less than a year). Relationships with parents and children are also included and you can still donate to the collection if you want to.

I highly recommend The Museum of Broken Relationships. This is a well curated collection from a museum that now has galleries all over the world. For those of us who haven't visited one, this is the next best thing. For those who have, this makes the perfect memento.

* Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *… (mehr)

If you're a fan of books like PostSecret and Humans of New York, The Museum of Broken Relationships" Modern Love in 203 Everyday Objects is a book you're going to want to pick up. And I have a copy to giveaway, courtesy of Grand Central Publishing!

Olinka Vistica and Drazen Grubisic were a couple for four years. When their relationship ended, they came up with a novel idea - a place to store all the painful triggers of past loves, creating a vault for both their tangible and intangible heritage. We named this repository The Museum of Broken Relationships.

The collection tours, but there are two permanent museums - on in Zagreb, Croatia and one in Los Angeles, California. And now there's a book!

I found the concept fascinating. We all have mementos - things we keep that remind us of a love or a loss. Things that may bring comfort - or sadness. There is a time to let those heartbreaking items go - both physically and emotionally.

Those are the items housed in the museums - ranging from small toys, stuffed animals, wedding dresses, shoes, rings, letters and more. I think the belly button lint was the most unusual, but there were more unexpected items. Each item appears in a full colour photograph. Accompanying each item is the story behind it - and why it has finally been let go. The dates of the beginning and the end are also noted. A relationship gone sour is the most prevalent, but death is also behind some of the stories.

What is the appeal of this you ask? We all have a little streak of voyeur in us - glimpsing a peek into some else's heartache or heartbreak. And it's impossible not to keep turning pages. And at the end, I thought about one or two things I could send in.......… (mehr)