Photo: courtesy of the artist
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—often harmful—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, Fox’s practice demonstrates that it is a material porous with new possibilities.
