ReadersDigestAustraliaNewZealand-April2018

April• 2018 | 83

Dražen
Grubiši ́c
and Olinka
Vištica got
theideafor
the Museum
of Broken
Relationships
from their own
break-up

IN A QUIET CORNER OF A MUSEUM

standsawhiteplinthonwhichsitsa30-centimetre-long,

multicoloured caterpillar made of felt. Some of its legs are

missingandlieforlornlynexttoit.Closetoitisacard

onwhichareprintedthefollowingwords:“Ihadthisbig,

trulybiglove,along-distancerelationship,Sarajevo–

Zagreb.Itlastedfor20months.Ofcourse,wedreamtof

alifetogetherandwiththatinmindIboughtthishuge

caterpillar.Everytimewewouldseeeachother,wewould

tear of one leg.

“Whenweranoutoflegstotear,thatwouldbethetime

tostartalifetogether.Butnaturally,asisoftenthecase

withgreatloves,therelationshipbrokeandsothecater-

pillardidnotbecomeacompleteinvalidafterall.”

he caterpillar and its accompanying sad tale is one

ofjustoverahundredexhibitsintheMuseumofBroken

Relationships,atimecapsuleofill-fatedafairscontained

in a few small rooms in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY DOMENICO PUGLIESE

CULTURE