A series of drawing based on old photos and made up biographies. Pencil on paper, 2021
Ernesto Obregon (1870-1903) Mayor of Pedro Meoqui, Chihuahua, Mexico. Died while performing among the more mundane of his mayoral duties in morning. Removing a family of rodents from the basement of the town hall. Obregon was alone and there were no witnesses, but what remained of his face told the whole story. Or part of it, at least. If you know what I mean.
Matteo Bianchi (1860-1932) Police constable in the town of Consonno, Northern Italy. Consonno was home of the Testa di Bambola crime organization, which took control of the lucrative doll and toy industry in the Province of Milan. The organization was infamous for cropping and stealing the beards and moustaches of local men and using the whiskers for the hair of its dolls. One night, thugs broke into the home of Contstable Bianchi for such a nefarious purpose. They had just begun to remove Bianchi’s moustache with a straight razor when he suddenly woke, startling the thief, who then slipped and ran the razor right across the throat of Constable Bianchi. It didn’t work out for the thieves either, as Bianchi’s retired police dog, Angelo, who had heard the thieves enter the house but was old and slow, somehow surprised the hoodlums and killed them both as they exited Bianchi’s villa.
Comandante Luis Miguel Esparraguera, d. 1938 while engaged in a skirmish against a band of rogue Anarchists in the mountains of Andalusia, his moustache was set aflame by a lantern as he hid in a cave. His entire corps survived the incident and, in fact, easily dispatched with the anarchists and, *sin comandante*, became the most highly decorated corps in the Spanish Civil War.
Dr. Wallop Rutherford Maypole (1825-1877). Community pediatrician, Sticks County area, Ohio. Died tragically while repairing wagon wheel between house-calls. Moustache became caught in axle, mule was spooked by his cry of surprise, mule bolted. Survived by his wife and sixteen children.
Karol “Professor Charlie” Pawlaczyk, 1926-1976. Taught chemistry for 24 years at William Perry Middle School in Aurora, Illinois. Deceased while lighting a Bunsen burner for a class demonstration immediately after a lunch of fried food. Survived by his cat “Antoine” and two goldfish, “Pasteur” and “Curie.”
