YOUNG ARTIST GOES VIRAL FOR BIZARRE CROTCHET CREATIONS<br />WITH VID AND PIX<br />By Kiara Wells<br />Meet the young artist who is going viral, not by revealing her face, but by choosing to cover it with her handmade masks.<br />A 23-year-old crochet creator, known online as “BeKindToFreaks” is drawing attention for a series of striking, handmade masks that get her millions of views online.<br />Her videos see her transform into an array of otherworldly figures including horned beings, distorted silhouettes, even a towering cake-shaped headpiece, all of which are painstakingly crafted by hand.<br />The artist says her masks take anywhere from six to 20 hours to produce, with even longer spent refining concepts and perfecting details. But the results are more than just visually arresting, they are deeply personal.<br />She said: "My masks can take from six to 20 hours to make. I bet I've spent even longer than 20 hours on some of them.<br />"My favourite masks are the weirdest ones. Like the cake mask, that has got to be my favourite mask by far. I think because I'm very proud of the construction, how it looks, I think there's nothing I would change about it."<br />What began in 2021 as a coping mechanism during a difficult period with her mental health has evolved into something far greater than she ever thought.<br />The artist, who was diagnosed as autistic at 21, describes a lifetime spent attempting to conform.<br />She explains: “I’ve spent most of my life trying to be neurotypical.<br />“My masks allow me to express the deepest, most suppressed parts of my personality.<br />“My human face is just a combination of my parents, but that’s not me.<br />“Covering your face often means you’re trying to hide. But it’s the opposite for me. I feel most like myself when I’m wearing a mask.”<br />The reaction online has been predictably mixed. Many viewers celebrate the originality and emotional honesty of her work, praising the boldness of her designs and the vulnerability behind them.<br />Others are unsettled, perhaps by the masks themselves.<br />She added: "Some people don't understand what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. But I don't expect everyone to understand. I've been overwhelmed many times by the amount of love and support I get.<br />'I made masks because I hated the world, and I didn't want to be a part of it. When I wore my mask, I felt like I was rejecting society and everything I hated about it. It felt like there was a physical barrier between me and the rest of the world.<br />"It's a heavy story, but it connects me so deeply with my work, and I think that's very important. I'm a lot better now, and my masks still reflect how I feel about myself and society. I'm just able to celebrate that difference a bit more now."<br />ENDS
