A 1914 publication for boy scouts called Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties: The Classic Guide to Building Wilderness Shelters outlines two emergency, survivalist shelters for pioneers and wilderness travellers – The ‘Beaver Mat’ and the ‘Faggot Shack.’ These low-impact structures are assembled from faggots; loosely bundled sticks held together with twine.
Faggot, of course, has another connotation, one that is often associated with a state of “unnaturalness” and “abnormality.” As well, a beaver is slang for a woman’s crotch. At Nida Art Colony, Hannah Jickling and Helen Reed created a new body of work entitled The Beaver Mat & The Faggot Shack, a temporary gay bar developed around these survivalist structures, which consided queers as pioneers, wilderness inhabitants and more-than-human locals of rural areas.
These signs were part of the small town gay bar installation and event.
Helen Reed & Hannah Jickling are based in Vancouver, Canada. They have worked together for the past 7 years on videos, public installations, events, photographs, multiples, and printed matter.