Journal Article

Morris Fox

Henderson, Austin

2025

Overview

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 forces 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, his practice demonstrates that it is a material porous with new possibilities. Fox's plastic chainmail objects subvert the notion that it is an indestructible substance. Despite plastic's 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), a crystal-adorned chainmail fishing net is coupled with an armored vest made of iridescent bubble-wrap envelopes. In place of kevlar, anonymous letters from intergenerational queer folks are placed within, transforming the armor into a vessel of vulnerability. Its metallic shimmer demands a level of attention: look, but don't touch.

• Publisher: Les Éditions esse
• Subject: Artistic expression / Creative process / Sculpture / Visual artists