In this exercise, I have collected visual metaphors for the phrase “Broken Relationship”.  I will then draw a visual list of objects and subjects regarded as a representation or symbol for a broken relationship.

According to the references I have collected, a metaphor for a broken romantic relationship is a broken heart or a visual representation of two people who have split apart by tearing, cutting, dissolving, or smudging.  The emotions that go with a broken relationship, like pain, sadness, and anger, are also expressed.  I think that ideas can also be generated by listening to music about break-ups and drawing the emotion you hear in the music.  While I was doing this project, I kept on hearing these lyrics from Britney Spears’ song “Don’t Cry”:  

“This is gonna be our last goodbye

Our love is gone, but I’ll survive

Hide my tears and dry my eyes

You don’t want to see me cry”

I have used different materials to create a list of visual objects and subjects that symbolise a broken relationship.  I include a short video of paging through my sketchbook. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CU7bvM-AyF0/?utm_medium=copy_link

Explanation of drawings: 

1. Ink on paper and diluted ink for shadows. A young man whose heart fell out of his chest onto the ground.  Spray painted on the back wall are the words “I love you”, and his beloved added a “d” to indicate that he is not loved anymore. 
2. The top stickmen are water-soluble ink, but it just did not smudge enough.  The bottom drawing is in charcoal, and I smudged it with a baby wipe.  This drawing signifies the other half that is not part of this person’s life anymore.
3. A girl reminisces about a past relationship that is broken.
4. A woman hiding her tears with sunglasses and the reflection of broken heart pieces are symbolised in her glasses.  At the bottom is a paper heart torn in half with the word lost underneath that indicates that love is lost.
5. The world in the shape of a rock heart is crumbling.  The feeling you get when you lose a loved one.  The couple is standing on top of this rock and will fall once this rock disintegrates. To the right is a stickman whose flower of love is dying and underneath that is a heart corroded by a plant.  I just got the idea that adding thorns and dying roses to that plant will send a stronger message. 

In conclusion, I think the sky is the limit to explore metaphors that visually describe a phrase, but of course, it needs to relate to the audience who will interpret it.