Transform Your Broken Heart into Art

It’s June, and it seems all anyone can talk about is weddings. And while I don’t begrudge the happy newlyweds, there are plenty of relationships that never make it to July 4th weekend, and they need some attention too. In addition to your heart, breakups can wreak havoc with your skin, nails, and waistline, and while I’d never make the lame proposal that a new look alone will cure what ails ya, it is pretty amazing what a new hairstyle or indulgent facial can do for your self-esteem.

You’re officially done with the wallowing, ready to put away the sloppy sweats and get reacquainted with your mascara. Only something is still holding you back. Maybe it’s that shoebox full of sweet nothings he wrote to you daily for the first month—pulsing away like the telltale heart—that’s weighing you down. Or that one t-shirt of his that you couldn’t bring yourself to put in the box filled with his records and old copies of Wired.

The Museum of Broken Relationships was conceptualized as an art project by Olinka Vištica and Drazen Grubišić as “a chance to overcome the emotional collapse through creation.” Everyone is welcome to donate the material remnants of love lost, along with the story behind the object. Submissions are anonymous, and have ranged from the expected love letters and faded photographs, to more unique donations including a leg prosthesis and a gall stone.

After the initial success of the first display in Croatia, the museum took the show online and on the road. It’s a reassuring alternative to simply torching anything that your ex touched. Though it’s hard to imagine when the wound is still raw, there might be a time when you can look back on the relationship with a sense of nostalgia, instead of nausea.