墨西哥失恋博物馆展出各地爱情遗产
Thousands of mementoes donated by ex-lovers are on display in Mexico City, as part of the latest exhibition by the Museum of Broken Relationships. It's founded by a couple who prove that breaking up is hard to do, but is also a source of creative inspiration.
It's the house of broken hearts.
Inside Mexico City's Object of the Object Museum are mementoes of love lost, and love scorned: a compass that once invited a lover to travel the world, a wedding dress burned after violence shattered a marriage, Mayan figurines that were supposed to represent harmony and partnership - all objects that once brimmed with sentimental value, now here in tribute to relationships that have ended.
"It wasn't about getting rid of the object. It was about getting rid of the relationship," said Liliana Sanches, an exhibition donor. "The donation is symbolic. This has changed me, because sometimes people think that to love someone, a person has to think like we think or feel as we feel. We idealise and that isn't healthy, sometimes it's about accepting other people for who they are, and if you can't, letting them go."
The first Museum of Broken Relationships exhibition was opened in Croatia in 2006 by artists and former partners, Olinka Vistica and Drazen Grubisic. After their relationship ended they joked about setting up a museum to house their unwanted personal items.
They turned that joke into a reality with a global touring exhibition that has attracted 200,000 visitors over the years.
Vistica says the museum offers donors closure for broken relationships.
"When you find yourself alone, you feel sad and it's as if the whole world is crashing down on you. For us, talking about that and creating something other than sadness is a kind of creative act, and we invite people to participate," she said. "After our breakup this is the most beautiful thing we ever created."
"After seeing the show, people think about what they would donate, they think about their past loves, and I think that it's always good to do," said co-founder Grubistic.
More than 1,500 objects have been donated to the exhibition. According to the museum, that's a record, far surpassing the previous record of 120 objects collected in France.
The Museum of Broken Relationships runs till the end of May.
