Christopher Turner narrates about the tragic scenario of unwanted babies being dropped off at a hospital in London without substantial medical care. Turner documented how hundreds of mothers would line outside the London hospital waiting to drop their children off, some with identifiable token signatures attached to them. There were so many children that a lottery had to be put in place to ensure at least one third of the children were welcomed. Many of the unwanted children were eventually given to tradesmen and often taken into domestic service. With each child given to the hospital, a unique 3d token or "memento" was presented with the child.
This story is in relation to our current memento project, where we create a memento based on a life event we have encountered. Although, the mementos mentioned in the story are quite different in the sense that they represent an actual person. The mementos we create remind us of a life experience rather than a person, and for this might not have as deep of meaning resonating within them. For a memento reminding one of a missed person is far more sentimental. One can always go back and visit the place of the memory they want to return to, but people are irreplaceable. As Turner said when referring to the mothers giving their children away, "the tokens remain missing pieces of a larger puzzle: an embroidered heart."
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