The Grigoryan Brothers describe the Museum’s collection of more than 300 convict love tokens as both moving and inspiring. They chose this particular token because the words engraved on it had resonance for them.
See the Grigoryan Brothers' performance of Love Token at the National Museum.
Dear brother, remember me
This token is reflective of the geographical distance between Slava and Leonard during the Covid-19 global pandemic and their deep and enduring personal connection as brothers.
The composition is a timeline, invoking a sense of longing and distance as it builds towards a final reunion.
Grigoryan Brothers – This is Us series 02 Mar 2021
Love Token
Convict love tokens
This is one of 315 convict love tokens the National Museum of Australia holds in its collection. They were made by convicts facing transportation to Australia, usually at the time of sentencing, and were given to family members and friends they would leave behind. Smoothing and engraving a coin with a message of affection was one of the few ways a convict could leave a memento with a loved one in England.
These small tokens, also known as ‘leaden hearts’, record personal and emotional responses from convicts whose lives are more often represented by official government records. This token, inscribed in 1819, bears the words, ‘Dear brother when this you see remember me when I am far away’.