The Foundling Museum.

The Foundling Museum.

The Foundling hospital museum is full with sculptures, paintings, furniture and books relating to the foundling children. 

The foundling children were the children lucky enough to get a place in a safe and secure environment after their mothers decided they couldn't look after them/ afford them anymore.

The main aspect of the Foundling exhibition that we looked at was the collection of the foundling tokens of which mothers would give their child before they would leave them forever. 

Looking at this collection of what felt like the hearts of the mothers, was extremely upsetting. Some tokens were even ale bottle tops as that was the single and only thing that the mothers had to give.

What was most shocking about this exhibition was that they had a interactive piece that was an exact copy of what the doctors/workers of the foundling hospital would use to determine if the child would be allowed to stay at the foundling. 

It had three balls and you twisted a handle to see if your child would be accepted. I did it and my child wasn’t accepted. Five of us did it, all of our children would not of been accepted. 

Tracy Emin’s work at the Foundling.