Zainab

Picturing my dad, I know how difficult it was to come here in the 60s. There was a lot of discrimination, a lot of unfair policies. He missed home. 

My dad bought this when he went back to Pakistan for the first time in the 80s. He bought it on the plane for £75. His first wage here was £5 a week. He must have been so excited, it’s nice to picture that he treated himself to something on the way. And now I’ve got it. It’s been passed on to me. 

My dad is the key figure in my family that made all these changes, all these moves and sacrifices. He has actually abandoned the watch, he said that time is everywhere so he doesn’t need to wear a watch in this country. But I love the story so I actually got the leather replaced. It’s a part of my family, it’s a kind of history.

Jack

I had one of those aunties, who’s not actually your auntie but you call her your auntie, called Jo. Her daughter was my age and we used to hang out all the time and do lots of fun arts and crafts. 

I was kinda obsessed with magic and witches at that age, so I made a little box where I’d keep my magic spells. I used to whisper spells into it. I used to wish for things that I wanted but didn’t have. 

One of the reasons I chose this object is that it reminds me of who I made it with. Jo brought out this creative and playful side of myself that I sometimes didn’t have in my own house. She died a couple of months into covid. It was really sad, just kinda out of nowhere. I wrote some little things and put it in that box to remember her. 

Ursula

I first got this case when I was in Hong Kong with my family. My mum and dad went to China for the day and brought it back for me. I grew up in Ireland but would spend summers in Hong Kong. The case is really nostalgic for me and reminds me of both the privilege and the confusion of enjoying two different cultures.

The case brings back a real multi-sensory experience for me. When I have it I can smell the humid summer heat, the marketplace with its fruit, dumplings and pork, even the rubbish in the city. On the inside of the case are loads of little scribbles from my friends – their names and some drawings they did. I can almost hear the playground chatter when I open it. 

These days I’m an illustrator and I keep the case in my studio and it reminds me of the creativity I’ve always had.

Fareeha

This plaster was given to me by my dad when he was visiting me. I was dropping him off at the airport and he hugged me, when all of a sudden he took out the plaster from his pocket. He said “If you cut yourself or anything, just use this, I have this for you”. So since then I’ve had a very strong emotional attachment to this thing, I haven’t used it and I keep it in my bag at all times. 

I have three children now and whenever they get a cut or graze they’ll ask me, ‘Mum I need a plaster, can I use that one I’ve seen in your purse?’ and I say ‘No, don’t you dare touch it’. I have lots of other things they can use. They will sometimes still tease me and say stuff like ‘Oh, we are going to use this one but it’s very old, there might be no stickiness left!’.

Sofia

It was one of those long and uncertain covid days in the first lockdown where you would try to fill your day andI sat outside with my partner teaching her to play Tavli (or backgammon). 

When we later went to Greece together, my Dad saw us playing and gave us his old wooden set from home. In Greece, little old men sit outside and play all day and evening during summer, I remember playing at home when I was younger with my dad. He’s competitive and he pushed me, but also sometimes gave in and showed me the right thing to do. 

After the financial crisis in Greece, I went to study and then work abroad as opportunities were scarce there. So this tavli set represents the memories and things we bring from our home culture and how we use them to make sense of a new home, with people here. It now sits in my home in Glasgow.

Tim

I found my pipefish a few inches from my foot on a beach in the Lake District. It made me jump and maybe scream a little bit, before I realised it was dead and not a snake. I’d never seen one before and had no idea what it was. 

I was on holiday with the first person I really loved and it makes me remember very happy times, though a very strange souvenir of romance! 

I like that pipefish genders mix it up a bit and have almost opposite roles to ours – the female deposits eggs in the male who eventually gives birth and cares for the young. The females compete for the males and sometimes have a flash of colour, a bit like male peacocks. It’s pretty fragile but has survived loads of home moves, parties and being passed around curious friends.

Jana

Wearing a chain with a cross means that God is protecting you. And if you wear the Virgin Mary – I have both the Virgin Mary and the cross – it means that both of them protect me. I believe in God and actually, this is such a gift to us. This is to be worn and this is what we wear, it protects us.

V

My sister was a fashion designer and she made it as a present for me when I would have my first baby, but I was only young then, I was still at school and I didn’t plan to have a baby. Unfortunately war broke out in my country and we had to run to save our lives. When we were running she took it and gave it to me saying: ‘this is a present I’ve been making for you. You’ll use it when you have a baby, take it and keep it safe’. I put it in my backpack and wherever I ran I took it. 

Now I have two children and my sister is no longer here, but when I look at it it reminds me of her and it makes me feel unconditional love. It reminds me to give things to other people and always show love to people without expecting anything in return.

Dylan

I got to pick the colour of this object. My favourite colour is blue and my grandfather wanted to make it so it was a really special object. When he makes things for someone he wants them to feel that they can keep the object and that they can have it forever. 

It’s a holder he made for me to use when I played snooker with my grandfather. I used to find it really difficult holding the stick, so my grandfather thought he’d make something to help. I still play and I think this object will be even closer to me now that my grandfather has passed away. The object is still with me and I want to keep playing and to remember what he made for me. 

The object brings moments of happiness and laughter because when I look at the object I’m able to recall moments I had with my grandfather.

Samar

The object has been in our family for a really long time. My mum got it from her aunt or her mum for her wedding, so around 30 or 40 years ago. It would always be lying around the house, usually in my mum's room or my room and I think only recently it struck me what it means because I’m a bit older now. 

I don’t think it’s been used in a long time, it’s probably not safe to use but It’s been in the family a long time and I think that’s because the person who gave it to my mum gave it to her with a lot of sincerity. 

I think maybe I’m more sentimental towards the object than my mum, perhaps I’m keeping it for her and other people in my family who can see it in years to come. We are not a very sentimental family but it’s nice to keep things like this that you might not notice are important – but they actually really are when you take a second and remember where they come from.

Daniel

Fish are a symbol of good luck in Romania. This style of glasswork fish, you would see everywhere in the 60s. I always remember them being on top of TVs, I think because during the communist era people didn’t get much electricity so you didn’t turn it on and put things on top of it instead. My grandparents had one like this but it got smashed when there was an earthquake in 2005. 

My partner and I really wanted one like my grandparents’ but we couldn’t find one anywhere for a long time. We actually got this one from a Scottish guy who worked in Romania during the communist era. You really can’t find this style these days. When we put it on display in our shop on Victoria Road [Transylvania Coffee and Shop] all the Eastern Europeans who came in were like ‘Oh my God you’ve got this fish, it’s unbelievable’.

Rizwana

Years ago when my mum died, my sibling asked me if I would like to keep any of mum’s belongings. So I chose that scarf because a few years before I gave it to my mum as a present. She really liked it, and when she died that scarf was still in my mum’s hand. So I said ‘I want to keep this’. 

When I see this scarf, it reminds me of my mum. Years ago when she was alive and in this world, I went to the shop and bought these kinds of things for her and I always remember the occasions she would wear them. I would get excited because I gave them to my mum and she used it. 

It makes me happy because I remember my mum by it,  but at the same time mum is not any more with me. I am emotionally attached to it because it was from my mum, I gave it to her and it came back to me again.

Sonia

For me this object is important because all my family – my grandparents, my mother-in-law, everybody – has things like this. Now the style is a little bit different, now it's more fashion style, Chanel, things like that. But I don’t like that, I still like the old style, really Roma Gypsy style jewellery. 

Many, many years ago, our grandparents had a lot of jewellery featuring gold coins. Like earrings, belts – things like that. For Roma people the coins mean that we are rich and we are from royalty. 

This necklace is very important to me. We pass these things to our children, like a tradition. Now the kids like different jewellery, not with coins, but I prefer this.

Monika

We Roma like to wear gold, because if you see it shining on us, we feel more expressive in it. We like gold for the reason that gold is something valuable to us – and we like to wear it because it is so distinctive to us. I have a new piece of gold jewellery. I got it for my husband's birthday and it is a very precious thing to me. I appreciate it. If it's a special day, I'll put it on.

Arij

This perfume, it reminds me of my mum. I remember the last time I hugged her. There was a smell and even now I cannot forget it. One day I was trying to find something that would remind me of her. I was looking in an African/Middle Eastern shop with a friend. The woman there was showing us the perfumes and I smelled many but for some reason this perfume caught my attention. I went in three times to smell it and there was something about it that made me think, ‘I need to buy this perfume, it reminds me of my mum’. 

When I smell it, it's like she’s in front of me and I'm hugging her again. Sometimes when I have hard days, I smell it and I feel more relaxed like she is next to me.  Even if the perfume is finished, my mum will stay with me. It's going to stay with me forever.

Ewa

This object reminds me of my power and my strength. Before this tie, I changed school maybe six times because I was getting bullied all the time and my mum changed my school every year. 

I didn’t have friends before this tie. Then one day, I was 13 and in the middle of the year I got this tie and I became a more confident person. Everyone else had the same tie and I was the only one with a tie like this. 

I remember the first time I walked in school. Everyone was looking at me, but I felt so confident. I accepted that I am not a straight person anymore. It was like a declaration for me and for everyone: ‘I’m gay, I’m trans, I’m LGBT+, I’m not straight’. After that I didn’t allow them to bully me anymore.

Engels

Back in 2018, there was a social political situation back in my country where we were just fighting for our rights and as a citizen, I felt I had the responsibility to support my people. So I just went on the streets demonstrating against the government, against the police. 

I remember looking at this guy and he was just wearing this Macho Ratón face mask and with a t-shirt saying, ‘freedom for Nicaragua’ and that image just is just sticking with my mind all the time. Like wow, this is my land, this is my people and we fight for our rights – and the history is coming back again, a hundred years later.  

It's just like my mom, my grandma, it's just my ancestors. I feel like the mask can speak, it would say, ‘don't forget about your roots.’

Rahela

I have brought along an ultrasound scan of my son. My son is now one and is my third child, but my first son. Both my husband and I are from big families of mostly women, so it was a great surprise when we found out we were having a boy. 

It’s so amazing when you go in to have your ultrasound, seeing your baby on the screen makes it feel even more real and it actually clicks that you are bringing another baby and another blessing into your family. We named our son David after his dad. In most Roma families, children tend to share the names of their parents so that’s why he’s known as wee David Junior. 

David is now 14 months old and so cheeky and cute. I keep his scans in a photo album along with the scans of my two daughters so I can show them one day. 

Nina

This belonged to the best friend of my fiancé. We all hung out a lot and became a little trio. My friend had been exiled from her hometown so even though we had these beautiful times, pain follows. After a while, she just ‘went’ – other close friends were worried too. We filed a missing persons report and it turned out that she was safe. but the past still lingers and the wallet is a reminder of that time.

Now, it feels like this object has been repurposed, I found it in a tidy up and I thought ‘well, I haven't really got a wallet’. I think memories can either be used to warm you or to torture you. They’ll come up at the weirdest hours and swirl around your mind before sinking their claws into you. But it's about what you do with the memory. We can be so much more than characteristics we can tie ourselves to.

Farika

Normally this is used as a whisky container. I keep it on a table so it can be seen. To us, it’s like a tradition. It's a hobby – we collect things that look like crystal.

Rosie’s Disobedient Press

Me and my collaborator devised Sleeper during lockdown. Thinking of it became a companion during long solo walks and it gave us something to think about and focus on when the rest of the world seemed uncertain. It gave us space to make connections and speak to people across the world at a time when moving around and making anything  was impossible. For us it was a real life line, even though Covid now seems far away every time I look at Sleeper it becomes a portal for all those feelings. 

Tim

This is my first fountain pen. It was a birthday present from my parents exactly 52 years ago (I’m writing on my birthday!) and was a complete surprise. And special.

I associated fountain pens with my fathers beautiful handwriting, and it felt very grown-up to own one. It has a gold nib! Jeez!!

Rhiannon

My grandmother was very open about death, even when we were young. On her bookshelf, she had this row of wicker baskets which had the name of her grandchildren on. They were filled with things we would get after she died.

Rachel

When I was younger, my relationship with my hearing aids was a fractured one. They were a symbol for what was wrong with me.

As I got older, I started to go on this journey of acceptance of my deaf identity.

Bel

The reason I have it is because the person that gave my granddad this violin, told him that if it ever went out of the family, he'd come back to haunt my granddad.

So someone in every generation of the family has had to learn to play the violin.

Samuel

It feels like an artefact. It's like something I took, Indiana Jones style, from a temple and swapped it with a bag of sand. I am the custodian over something that does something to me, that brings me emotion, but that doesn't necessarily belong to me.

Mohammed

I've always kept it safe because it represents a gift from my mum. My grandmother made it for her when I was little.

"The mom of Mohammad" is written on it. It's also the only thing I have from my grandmother.

Ibrahim

This certificate changed everything in what people were saying about me.

Their respect started from right then, because in my country, if you choose entertainment as your career, they look at you like somebody who did not want to choose a brighter future.

Kate

A lot of people aren't able to take a lot of things with them when they're leaving Ukraine just now.. even the basic things.

So it feels like a lot of privilege to be here and have something from home.

Susie

"I used to really enjoy making up stories about it and thinking: oh, where did it come from? How did he get in there?"

Maria

 "It's a storyteller that's sitting on a hanger. 200 years ago it would have been mingled with other very similar blouses, whereas now it's an element of folklore and memory.

I think that is where its value comes from – from all the untold stories that have traveled with it." 

giacinta

“When I first got him and my mom was away so much with my aunty, I was really sad that she was gone for such long periods of time.

And she would always say, ‘if you give him a hug, then I'll feel it. I'll know that you're giving me a hug’. I think I still sort of feel that.”

Sareh

“I wear them when I miss my mum. It’s like you can feel something that belongs to your mother – such a good feeling.”

Kenneth

“It was a gift from my mother, from China. I view it as an enigma. I keep it next to me either as a good luck or as a bad luck charm.”

Najat

“In 2007, this was the first photography camera that I bought with my own money. 

It was not very expensive but I was very happy with it.”

Ewelina

"When I look at this little one, I see humility. I see simplicity, authenticity and non-judgement. These are the characteristics of people who I came across in my life, that were like angels to me."

Anne K

I see this object as a symbol of that friendship, of creativity shared, of generosity but also now as a symbol of something which is lost, past, gone.”