who am i: solo portraits

Gerardus Mercator, Kea Parrot, Geographer, 1574

I have drawn for the world,
but this I leave for you.

My family,
thank you for all your support,
for the burdens you carried,
and for the love that sustained me.

Let this keep me near.
And may our craft go on,
bringing clarity and beauty
to the world through maps.

featuring Rhine River as landscape—iconic view in Germany.

Mimar Sinan, Cleaner Wrasse, Master Architect, 1575

Children of the craft,

I leave you not advice,

but proof.

featuring the silhouette of Selimiye Mosque in Edirne—one of his best works.

Turlough O'Carolan, African Elephant, Harper, 1738

You took me in at my lowest.
You believed in me when no one else would.

Everything I have,
the person I have become,
began with your kindness.

There are no words large enough for my gratitude.

I will never forget what you gave me.
I will carry it with me,
always.

featuring Alderford House where he was given the chance to become a harper, with blue hydrangeas blooming to symbolise gratitude.

Justine Siegemund, Caiman Crocodile, Mid Wife, 1701

I was only there at the beginning,
but I’ll always remember
how deeply you were wanted,
how fear and hope waited together,
and how love filled the room before you arrived.

Let this portrait remain
not where power gathers,
but where women learn
to steady each other’s hands
and meet suffering with calm.

featuring the Berlin Palace where she served the Duchess as a Court Mid Wife.

Charles de Lorme, Guinea Pig, Plague Doctor, 1631

Too many.
Too many families torn apart.
Too many needless souls robbed of their dreams.
Too many passed, in my very arms.

This dreadful miasma
has struck fear in all our hearts.

But here we are.
We endured.
We survived.

Take heart,
For we shall not falter,
Not by famine.
Not by war.
And as long as I draw breath,
Never by plague.

featuring the expansive formal gardens of the Palace of Versailles in France, where he served King Louis XIII.