Work of the Week: Mila Fejzo

Posted on September 11, 2020

Mila Fejzo

This is my first college piece for my TRS class. When I heard the project was about misfits, I immediately thought about who was most comfortable in society: the straight white male. I wondered how I can force them to become the misfits. I decided I wanted to challenge their masculinity. It actually took me a couple days to convince them to allow me to dress them up, and one even refused to let me do their makeup. This pushback from these guys shows how hard it was for them to give up their inherent power. When I think of misfits I also think of the odd ones out in a school setting, so I decided to make a piece resembling a shitty class photo that you might receive in elementary or middle school. This is a time where everyone might feel like a misfit. I also chose to make the two straight white males dressed in my clothes to wear brighter or more stand out colors so that they become more visible in their discomfort. These two men also look the most uncomfortable in the photo, yet also adapted and assumed more feminine positions naturally without my direction. August uses the classic model open mouth facial expression while Tommy sassily has his hand on his hip. Overall this project disempowers those who usually have the benefit of fitting in best into their environment.