Oh Me, Oh Mãe III is a predominantly self-portraiture project that I started in September 2023 and is a continuation of my previous work about motherhood. Instead of hashtags, all the photos have accompanying poems. Mãe is Portuguese for mother; my children are British-Portuguese.
They were born in 2020 and 2022. Early motherhood was not what I thought it’d be, and my practice has been an anchor to vent, explore, and document. I decided before they were born that I wasn’t going to show their faces within my work, and this naturally led to me imitating them doing things that I find amusing. When their facial features do appear, I crudely edit over them.
I have always compulsively made work. Currently, I aim to do a shoot a week and write an accompanying poem. At the moment I am writing a self-initiated book about my self-portraiture work. Please get in touch if you'd like to know more.
I am posting the photographs and text in order to to my Instagram account.
Imitating B & L Playing In A Cardboard Box (13th May 2026)
I bought a box of bits and bobs
And in that box my kids did sit
But by the time I got round to it
The box was broken, bent and
Bruised, ripped and… wait
Can boxes even be bruised?
It took me too long to find
The end of the tape
I traced my thumb
Round and round
Turning and trying
A tough time ‘til
An end emerged
A search for scissors
A corner contained
A short-term situation
Secure enough for me
To slouch and stay in the box
----
Imitating L With Hair Ties On Her Feet / Portrait With L (3rd September 2025)
and
Imitating L With Hair Ties On Her Feet / L’s Portrait With Me (3rd September 2025)
I wished the time away
Now my babies are
No longer babies and
My role as a full-time
Full-time mother
(Double for emphasis)
Will be reduced to a
Part-time mother role and
I am feeling emotional.
I have longed for more time alone and
Now I may use a bit of this time to
Read books about how to be a
Better mother and to feel
Guilty about my failures as a
Mother to very small children.
Though I wished for time to
Focus on my work
I know now that my best is
When my children gatecrash and
Just improve it all while
I am stood there imitating them as
They obviously are my inspiration and
Without them what would I be doing?
So right now, I am mourning the
Closing of this motherhood chapter
The years I wanted to pass and the
Wishing, waiting, wanting
Though ask me again when
My new role starts and the
Next chapter opens and
Maybe I’ll feel different.
----
Portrait Of A Part-Time Mum / Imitating L Posing For Her First Day Photo (17th September 2025)
This wannabe morning person says hello.
Last year, always late
This year, no rushing
I aim to be a morning person
No longer bedtime procrastinating
No longer saying ‘just one more’
This year, no TV in bed
This year, only reading
I aim to shut my eyes at 10:00
Though 9:30 is becoming normal
But L’s lack of desire to leave me
Means I rise again and again
With the hope that sleep will
Envelop my body quickly when
I faceplant in my pillow again
Then roll to my side
And then the other side
Ow, my left hip hurts
Probably from carrying the kids
This week my alarm has been
Set for 6:45
But everyday I have woken before
5:00, 5:30, 6:00
I do my Portuguese apps
So the kids no longer see me on
My phone first thing
I visit the bathroom
I take my vitamin, brush my teeth
I stretch
I shower (cold, hot, cold)
I get dressed
(Hopefully all before a kid greets me)
Then the routine to prep them
For their day starts
Hopefully they arrive on time
Or even earlier
So I can return in good time
To start the new chapter of my life
Where I’ve been demoted from a
Full-time mother
To a part-time mum.
----
L Being A Turtle & Imitating L Being A Turtle (12th March 2025)
She lies under the wash basket
A hand outstretched
Then pulls it back
I ask ‘Where is L?’
She pops up
Then pulls it back down
She fits perfectly
I have grand illusions
Of squeezing myself
Into the confines of the plastic
But my size and age escape
I am unable to conceal myself fully
I settle for partial cover
And tip it forward more
L comes up to the tub
And taps it
She walks around
Tells me I’m doing it wrong
My camera captures her
Exasperated looks of disapproval
Clutching the handle
Collapsing my shoulders
I try again
I’m too big
But like a turtle
I attempt to hide.
----
Five Years of Mothering (28th February 2025)
I am struggling to write
I am avoiding writing
I just feel meh
A bit overwhelmed
A bit underwhelmed
I am unable to write
Something profound
About motherhood.
I just want to melt into bed
And watch rubbish TV
And do Portuguese crosswords
And nap on and off
And eat my favourite snacks
(Without someone else grabbing at them)
And read Eurovision trivia
And be free of responsibility
Just for a little bit.
----
Imitating B Playing A Trumpet With Her Thumbs (30th July 2025)
Summer sweating
(But black seemed best)
Thumb trumpet
Children close
Unmotivated mother
Day after day
Sing Ging Ging
And Something More.
----
Imitating L With A Little Handbag On Her Eye (8th June 2026)
She’s got a little handbag on her eye
She’s got a little handbag on her nose
She’s got a little handbag on her thigh
She’s got a little handbag on her toes
She’s got a little handbag on her chin
She’s got a little handbag on her lip
She’s got a little handbag on her shin
She’s got a little handbag on her hip
----
Imitating B Playing With Curtains & Imitating L Playing With A Cup (8th / 9th November 2023)
Barely making a sound
But I’m told to calm down
While my kids sit down in protest
Not against wars, but me
To hide would be good
Behind curtains, under hood
Invisibility would be better
Beside the sea
A cup for a nose
While the Atlantic breeze blows
And I’m walking backwards
Just trying to be
Often loneliness calls
When I’m stuck staring at walls
Fumbling over foreign words
Not drinking tea
----
Imitating B With Pen Lids On Her Fingers (20th March 2024)
The Colours of Cars (March 2024)
B pushed her fingers into the felt tip lids with ease
Mine took more work
Gravity was needed for the green on my thumb
I was surprised that they stayed on
The colours reminded me of our car game
As sometimes we sit on steps
And look for carros of a certain cor
Usually, we start with the usual
Branco, grey, black
Often, one is already in view
Then, red, which rarely takes long
We wait a bit for blue
Yellow and green make us give up
But we watch out while we head home
Even when I walk alone
I find myself spotting shades
And imagine myself informing the girls
Like we’re playing the game live.
----
Imitating B Wearing Orange Peel As A Headband (10th April 2024)
I’ve long been envious
Of those who can
Peel fruit with a knife
Perfectly remove the skin
Without wasting the flesh
And finish with fingers intact
I’m fond of my thumbs
I (mostly) grew them myself
I want to keep them intact
And attached to me
Not sliced and diced
By a supermarket knife
That cut too far
While unwrapping an orange
T uses the blade with skill
I watch his hands move
While the girls watch the fruit
And push their bowls forward
B takes the rind
Long and intact
At first, she makes glasses
And peers through the hole in the peel
Then she puts it on her head
A headband, it suits her
I liked headbands when I was a girl
L and I eat an orange
In preparation for a shoot
T is out
So, I cut it
It’s too short
I push it over to one side of my head
And pretend it’s large enough.
----
Portrait Of A Mother With Hairclips (27th November 2025)
Nineteen clips pushed in,
Pushed up, pushed back
Attempting to contain the baby hairs
Which appeared long before the babies
Greasy tips darken the mass
Smoothed down, tucked back
Towards the messy Mum bun
Which existed before motherhood
The nervous gnawing of nails
And biting of fingers until bruised
In proximity to the photo
Missiles of men on the mind.
----
Imitating B Hiding Under & L Hiding Behind My Exercise Mat (2nd January 2024)
Don’t Stand On My Mat, Please (2nd January 2024)
New Year's resolutions made while balancing on one leg
A white tiger eats my right foot
As a pink flamingo eats a mole on the side of my left thigh
I request space
I receive little
A green caterpillar sings classic children's songs
While my daughters bob in unison
Then one spins
While the other one claps
The youngest laughs at my eyebrow
And honks my nose
Before smacking her own
I request space
I receive little
I lie down
Before long I feel the weight of two small beings on my back
It was expected
They always do it
I shift
I lie on my back
Someone sits on my stomach
Gives me a hug
Then reclines on my legs
And kicks my belly
I request space
I receive little
Beneath a lunge
A forehead kiss is offered
I appreciate how far we have all come
And how we are all here
I complete the poses
With little space
1.25x speed
And still so little time.
----
Suckling Sonnet (25th / 26th October 2023)
You are twenty months old and the time has come
To say goodbye to this chapter and close the book
On my breastfeeding adventure, yes, my boobs’ job is done
You want no more of my milk, not a 1000th look
I am proud of my nipples of steel that once used to blister
Now instead of nursing I just open and close the fridge door
I feel sad, but less guilt than the shorter time feeding your sister
Who before six months lost interest and wanted no more
I had always assumed that the task would be easy
That it was natural and we would all know what to do
Though with B it was hard and not at all breezy
And when it came to an end I longed to continue
Again, I would have liked for it to go on, but I can end this journey happier
As this suckling spree was much better, and thankfully not crappier.
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