ReadersDigestAustraliaNewZealand-April2018

April• 2018 | 85

broken relationships,” says Vištica.

“We thought the best thing to repre-

sentitwasbyusingasharedobject

and the story attached to it, as we

ourselves were surrounded by objects

that each had their own story.”

Withjusttendaystogobeforethe

show’sopening,thepairdesperately

emailed friends and relations to

gather exhibits, which they installed

in an old shipping container outside

the gallery. The Museum of Broken

Relationships was born.

“It was a very popular show and

caught the attention of the interna-

tional media, which was a total shock

for us,” says Vištica. “We had Reuters

calling, asking about the irst museum

of broken relationships opening in

Zagreb, and we’d say, ‘No, it’s just a

shipping container with 40 objects

in the yard of an art gallery and it’s

not going to be there much longer!’ It

turned into a snowball. We just let it

roll and it caught a lot of snow.”

Aftertheexhibitionended,themu-

seumbegantouringtheworld–asit

has continued to do to this day, visit-

ingmorethan40locations,including

major cities such as New York, Lon-

don and Berlin.

IN 2009, THE PAIR BORROWED

money in order to fund a permanent

home for their collection in Zagreb. It

was Croatia’s irst private museum; the

government having decided the idea

was too “weird” to fund themselves.

Museum of Bad Art

MASSACHUSETTS, US

Privately owned with

700piecesof“arttoo

badtobeignored”.

Highlights include the

‘Mana Lisa’ (above).

Plastinarium

GUBEN, GERMANY

Dedicated to

the ‘plastination’

techniques of German

anatomist Gunther

von Hagens, who uses

polymers to preserve

anything from a single

organ to a whole

human body.

Museum

of Happiness

LONDON, UK

An “experiential

adventure” ofering

interactive exhibitions,

workshops and

events on a theme

of happiness and

wellbeing. Don’t forget

your smiley face.

Vampire Museum

PARIS, FRANCE

The world’s only

vampire museum,

nestled in a suitably

gloomy Parisian

alleyway and run by

self-proclaimed

“vampirologist”

Jacques Sirgent

(by day an English

teacher). As it is a

private museum,

youhavetomakean

appointment (if you

are brave enough to

visit this cabinet of

curiosities). Email:

museedesvampires@

sfr.fr.

COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF BAD ART

OTHER WACKY SHOWS