Denim on Denim, 2021 - A collaboration with Frankie Toan created for the exhibition ‘ARMOR’ at the Center for Visual Arts in Denver, CO. This piece draws inspiration from queer denim fashion histories where the fabric was worn to signal membership in certain queer subcultures. The artists used denim from their own wardrobes, their friends, family, and thrift stores to create a rainbow of denim shades. These articles of clothing were then deconstructed and reconstructed into “shield” forms. This process mirrors the use of fashion as armor within queer communities and the use of coded materials, accessories, and embellishments deployed strategically to recognize and be recognizable to other queer folks. Frost and Toan traded compositions back and forth, working together and separately on the individual compositions. The collection of shields resulting from this process recalls individuals in a crowd coming together to give each other strength. Each denim shield has its own sensibility, yet there are small visual through lines tying them together in the community, providing collective protection. They are arranged in a formation that mimics a Viking shield wall where according to legend, overlapping shields provided better protection for soldiers than when they were used alone. [Images: Center for Visual Art, 2021 (Denver, CO) & Chautauqua Visual Art Galleries 2022 (Chautauqua, NY)

‘ARMOR’ ran from July 30, 2021, to October 16, 2021, and was curated by Cecily Cullen.

‘All That Glitters’ ran from June 26, 2022, to August 7, 2022, at the Chautauqua Visual Art Galleries (Chautauqua, NY) and was curated by Erika Diamond.