Marriage is often viewed as the ultimate step in fulfilling romantic relationships, it is seen as something official. Sanctioned by law, the partnership is taken to an authoritative level.

The work of Alix Lambert, as mentioned in Bourriaud’s Relational Aesthetics, was of particular interest to me. Through Wedding Piece, 1992, Lambert explored the “contractual” side of relationships, by marrying and divorcing four different people in six months. By ‘collaborating’ with four of her good friends, three male and one female, Lambert explored the institution of marriage from a personal standpoint. Linked to the concept of Relational Aesthetics, Lambert’s artwork can be seen as an exploration of this official partnership.

Lambert says of the piece, “we knew it was an art project, but we didn't tell other people that. We had this whole other experience of being really aware of how other people treat you as a couple.”(http://www.nerve.com/content/wedding-project-an-interview-with-alix-lambert) The wedding certificates, divorce documents and wedding portraits were displayed alongside wedding gifts as an installation.

Excerpt from an interview with the artist by Rachel Greene:
(http://www.nerve.com/content/wedding-project-an-interview-with-alix-lambert)

Interviewer: How did you feel after you got married? Did you feel like you belonged to
somebody? Connected to somebody?
Alix Lambert: I felt really weird. One of my husbands wrote an article about it, because even though we knew it was an "art" project, it was really emotional, intense and frightening.