During the autumn of 2011, artist Elaine Duigenan worked with young people and the public on a series of charm- and votive-making workshops at Wellcome Collection, which culminated in the design of a huge tree installation at The Bloomsbury Festival.

The display is a recreation of that work that marks the end of ‘Miracles and Charms’ and celebrates the ‘pleas and thank yous’ of a multitude of makers.

Themes were quick to emerge – love, thanks, prayers, naming and requests. Often, friends joined up their charms and parents collaborated with their children. Messages were written for loved ones, hopes expressed and advice offered. There’s playfulness and wit, lucky numbers and superstition. Every now and then, the special poignancy of a particular votive strikes an emotive chord, such as the votive from a woman expressing her longing for a baby.