Heal The Pain: A One-Woman Show

Approximately a decade ago, I was reading an article in a magazine on my way home from our family vacation about how teenagers cut and deliberately injure themselves to help forget the pain and trauma they experienced. The article has caused much of an impact to me never to forget it up to now - every detail on how they coped with the trauma. Up to now the thought of cutting or burning yourself after being a victim of rape or whatever trauma happening strikes haunts me.

I got intrigued and did research and was deeply moved to do this mini-project: a photoshoot to bring out awareness and hopefully prevent self-harm.These are just a few test shots I did a while ago - my own makeup, posing, photography (using available sources - available light and my trusty P&S), and application on my crash-course on digital enhancement.

(model, makeup, prosthetics, digital imaging, and photography: Bambi C. de la Cruz)

Far from beauty and glamour to something socially relevant (and something that we should bring awareness to, as many do not know much about self-injury, at least when I talk about it), I want to do something that's not just making someone beautiful in the outside. As a professional makeup artist, I want to go beyond my task of making someone beautiful until she rinses off with cleansing oil or cold cream or whatever makeup remover. The hurt that the self-inflicted wound gives will not remove the pain she feels inside... it will only get worse and the scar/s left behind will traumatize her for years.

This mini-project aims to reach out to those people who do self-injury and to their friends to put action to this