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PHOTOS: The Museum of Broken Relationships

A unique exhibition space at the CentQuatre exhibition hall in Paris displays relics of sentimental disappointment.

They call it the city of romance. Even so, Paris recently hosted a new exhibition -- the Museum of Broken Relationships  at at the CentQuatre exhibition hall in the capital of France and has on display objects that testify to love gone awry.

What objects found their way to the exhibition? Find out!

A wedding ring is displayed at the Museum of Broken Relationships installed at the CentQuatre exhibition hall in Paris. This short-lived exhibition space, in association with the museum with the same name in Zagreb and will show relics of sentimental disappointment.

PHOTOS: The Museum of Broken Relationships

The founders describe the museum as 'An art concept which proceeds from the (scientific) assumption that objects (in the broadest sense, i.e., matter as a whole) possess integrated fields - 'holograms' of memories and emotions - and intends with its layout to create a space of 'secure memory' or 'protected remembrance' in order to preserve the material and nonmaterial heritage of broken relationships'.

 

PHOTOS: The Museum of Broken Relationships

The Museum of Broken Relationships has received the Kenneth Hudson Award that is given out by the European Museum Forum (or the EMF). The judging panel that gives out the award to 'a museum, person, project or group of people who have demonstrated the most unusual, daring and, perhaps, controversial achievement that challenges common perceptions of the role of museums in society' noted the 'importance of public quality and innovation as fundamental elements of a successful museum'.

PHOTOS: The Museum of Broken Relationships

The museum that is has found a location in Zagreb, Croatia was first a travelling collection of donated items left over from former lovers that are accompanied by brief descriptions.

PHOTOS: The Museum of Broken Relationships

Founded by Zagreb-based artists, Olinka Vistica, a film producer, and Drazen Grubisic, a sculptor who after calling off their four-year-long relationship, joked about setting up a museum that would house their left-over personal items.

PHOTOS: The Museum of Broken Relationships

Three years after their break-up, they eventually did carry out their seemingly bizarre idea and started by asking their friends to donate objects left behind from their break-ups. They opened it to public for the first time in 2006.

PHOTOS: The Museum of Broken Relationships

Over the years, the collection travelled from city to city, country to country, collecting objects from broken relationships. After trying unsuccessfully trying to convince the Croatian Ministry of Culture to help them find a temporary location for the museum, Vistica and Grubisic finally rented out a 3,200 sq ft space in Zagreb's Upper Town from their personal investment thus making it the city's first privately-owned museum. When it first opened in October 2010, it was a hit amongst foreign tourists in particular.