Eve Hirst, 14, who has been bullied for being overweight, uses elaborate face-paint methods to turn herself into a zombie, ghoul and storybook characters
These faces reveal the torment of a teenage girl bullied so badly she turns herself into different characters to escape reality.
Eve Hirst, 14, uses intricate make up to become a zombie, a princess or a story book character to release the inner torture she suffers.
She said: “I need a way to express my feelings. So, I go into my bedroom and turn myself into a character to release all the upset.
“I love becoming someone else because I don’t have to deal with my everyday problems because when I’ve applied the make-up, I’m no longer me.
“And the person I become isn’t being bullied or taunted, instead she is happy and having fun.”
Escape: Eve Hirst uses intricate make up to become different characters as release from bullying (Image: Michelle Rawlins / Eve Hirst)
Eve from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, has been bullied through most of her school life for being overweight.
Her Mum, Becky Hirst, said: “Eve has always loved her food which has left her bigger than most of her peers.
“And due to that she has been the victim of bullies for years. But after she started senior school it got much worse.
“She very quickly became known as Fat Eve or Big Eve and was taunted daily for her size.
“It became so bad that she started hiding in the toilets during her break and lunch time as she was so frightened of the other kids.
Expression: Eve says it helps her forget her cruel tormentors (Image: Michelle Rawlins / Eve Hirst)
“They would leave her in tears and terrified every day. They constantly called her wicked names. She would get off the school bus and run to her Gran’s house as they would start on her in the street too.”
And the bullying wasn’t just verbal, she was attacked on social media too.
Eve said: “I’d get Facebook messages saying ‘You better watch yourself’ or ‘You are in for it’. I was absolutely terrified.
“I wouldn’t leave the house without my Mum or one of my sisters and even then I was constantly looking over my shoulder.”
Mum-of-three Becky even pulled Eve out of Barnsley Academy and enrolled her in another senior school, Horizon Community College, in a bid to stop the bullies.
Threats: Eve’s mum Becky pulled her from one school after bullying and social media abuse (Image: Michelle Rawlins / Eve Hirst)
She said: “It helped a little bit, but we still had kids coming to the door and threatening Eve. They didn’t care – they happily yell at her in our front garden despite me and my husband, Gary, being in the house.
“Eve very quickly became very low, her once happy personality vanished and became very introvert. I became increasingly worried as I knew her self esteem and confidence had been destroyed.”
But in October last year, Eve found her unusual way of dealing with the bullies that were making her life a “living hell”.
After watching a You Tube video on an American make-up artist Alexis Flemming, who had also been a victim of bullying, she decided to try out body art for herself.
Becky, 33, a laundry assistant, said : “She came down stairs one night with what appeared to be holes in her cheeks and bruising all over her face.
Body art: Eve started the transformations last year after watching YouTube tutorial (Image: Michelle Rawlins / Eve Hirst)
“It really shocked me. Eve looked as though she had been in a war zone.
“But ironically she was really happy and so proud of what she had done. It was really impressive facial art and I realised that it gave her something to smile about.
“And as she continued creating different designs and turning herself into zombies or fictional characters, I saw a tiny part of her confidence reappear.
“Initially a lot of her characters were quite gruesome and garish, and I realised she was just trying to express herself.”
Eve, who initially only used every day makeup to create her images, added: “It gave me a way of expressing myself. I was so angry and hurt by how I was being treated by other kids.
Elaborate: Eve also transforms into princesses and other characters (Image: Michelle Rawlins / Eve Hirst)
“But through the art I was creating, I could let all my frustration out.
“I could demonstrate how I was feeling deep inside.”
But Eve doesn’t just reinvent herself as harrowed and tortured souls, that closely resemble American horror drama The Walking Dead, she also depicts herself in more fun characters too.
She explains: “When I paint myself as the Mad Hatter or the Queen of Hearts, I envisage myself in Wonderland where I’m really happy and everyone is nice to me. No one is bullying me there and I’m just having fun.
“I painted Dr Suess’s Cat In The Hat on my Mum’s back as it was one of my favourite books when I was a little girl.
“Mum leaves me a positive quote from one of the books every morning when I go to school to help me get through the day, so when I did that character it just made me smile.”
Pride: Mum Becky says it is helped her daughter’s confidence (Image: Michelle Rawlins / Eve Hirst)
Self taught Eve, who now practices her art on family members, has advanced to using more professional prosthetics and cooking ingredients to create her special effects.
She buys parts from her local market and uses glycerine, powdered gelatine and liquid latex to make some of the more ghoulish faces.
But for Becky her daughter’s intricate artwork is bitter-sweet. She said: “I’m so pleased Eve has found a way of escaping her tormentors, but it breaks my heart that she is so troubled by her every day life.
“Those bullies have no idea of the mental effect they have on Eve. I’ve worried myself sick night after night that she will harm herself in some way to escape these horrid kids.
“I know she is 14, but she is still my little girl, and I can’t bear the fact that she is so unhappy.
Mum: Eve even painted the Cat in the Hat on Mum Becky’s back (Image: Michelle Rawlins / Eve Hirst)
“I want to scream at them and make them realise what a detrimental effect they are having on Eve, but I really don’t think they would understand or stop.”
But Eve’s body art is helping her cope. Only this week did she venture to the local shop by herself, something she has never been able to do.
Becky said: “I was so happy I cried. For her to go outside be herself is a huge turning point.
“It shows she is gaining a little bit of confidence and learning to stand up to the kids who constantly terrorise her.”
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/bullied-teen-transforms-herself-terrifying-5483906
