When Morris Fox was introduced to goth subculture as a high-school student in Toronto, he became a part of an alternative community that offered protection from the outside\u2014often harmful\u2014forces that he was confronting as a teenager. Turning to the anachronistic modes of dress associated with gothic style, Fox quickly came to appreciate chainmail. He would routinely construct squares of the intricate metal textile while riding the subway. Although chainmail is synonymous with distant fantasies of medieval knights, chivalry, and even toxic masculinities, Fox\u2019s practice demonstrates that it is a material porous with new possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fox\u2019s plastic chainmail objects subvert the notion that it is an indestructible substance. Despite plastic\u2019s promise as a durable or protective material, these objects are not made to withstand force. Instead, the plasticized loops are lightweight, brittle, and quite delicate. In Retiarius (Net Fighter)<\/em> (2023), a crystal-adorned chainmail fishing net is coupled with an armoured vest made of iridescent bubble-wrap envelopes. In place of kevlar (the synthetic fibre commonly used in bulletproof vests), anonymous letters from intergenerational queer folks are placed within, transforming the armour into a vessel of vulnerability. Its metallic shimmer demands a level of attention: look, but don\u2019t touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interested in queer ecologies, non-linear time, and sexuality, Fox uses \u201cubiquitous gay objects,\u201d such as handkerchiefs and undergarments, to represent sites of queer memory and interaction. In Paladin<\/em> (2024), a jockstrap made of glow-in-the-dark rubber chainmail references knighthood and queer fetish gear, playing with the shared etymology of \u201ccrusade\u201d and \u201ccruising\u201d: \u201cto cross.\u201d As knights crossed into territories for battle, people who engage in cruising cross into physical spaces for a sexual encounter, often visiting the same places repeatedly over time. Like the act of linking together rings of chainmail, cruising, Fox notes, is a form of intimacy that requires looping\u2014revisiting a site of connection in order to become entangled with another. The green hue of Paladin <\/em>evokes nostalgia and enchantment. In the shadows, the garment reanimates itself, becoming its own source of light and potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An artist, writer, and cultural worker based in Tiohti\u00e0:ke\/Mooniyang\/Montr\u00e9al, Austin Henderson holds an MA in art history from Concordia University. His writing can be found in publications such as C Magazine<\/em>, Esse arts + opinions<\/em>, and Visual Arts News.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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