The Endings: Photographer Caitlin Cronenberg Documents Painful Breakups

It can be tough to forget the painful moments surrounding the end of any meaningful romantic relationship. Thanks to a new project by Canadian photographer Caitlin Cronenberg and New York-based art director Jessica Ennis, it may be even tougher.

The pair is collaborating on "The Endings"--a book of photographs of different actresses depicting peoples' real-life breakup stories in artful tableaux. Though the images are based on stories culled from submissions to the artists' site, there won't be any text to explain the visuals, so the effect will be something like an artful picture book about heartbreak. Cronenberg hopes the final product will "evoke as much emotion as a film" (she comes by that desire honestly--her dad is legendary director David Cronenberg).

"The reason we don't tell the audience the story is so they can interpret it in their own way," she adds. Some, she says, "may recognize the feeling in the image as something they have experienced, and then project their own story onto [it]"--and that's precisely the point.

The first set of photographs from the project, which is currently in the fundraising stage, features Canadian actress Christine Horne, and is accompanied by a powerful short film.

Click through to see six photos from the series.