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The image at the top is from the 'Hybrid House' exhibition at the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art. It depicts the nature of the shanty construction of Caracas, being a careful negotiation between units and private and public space. Each unit distinguishes itself from the other given its material composition, however they are integral to a larger whole. Perhaps the ice shack can be implemented in such as manner, as they are both modest and informal constructions of salvaged and scrap materials.
Certeu writes of ones private space as being the reflection of ones character and daily routines; “This private territory must be protected from indiscreet glances, for everyone knows that even the most modest home reveals the personality of its occupant. Even an anonymous hotel room speaks volumes of its transient guest after only a few hours. A place inhabited by the same person for a certain duration draws a portrait that resembles this person based on objects (present of absent) and the habits that they imply”. The arrangement of furniture, the colour and quality of materials, one’s possession their books and newspapers, the sources of light, the care or negligence of ones space, are all indications of a “life narrative”. The interior space of the ice shack is no less symbolic of the modest and makeshift subculture of the average ice fisher.
The ice fishing village is a unique phenomenon of American culture. It challenges the conventional notions of property and boundaries as it exists on temporary land. The ice villages are ephemeral communities where one takes possession of their space simply by being there. The villages behave cyclically, appearing with the onset of the winter months and disappearing with the arrival of the spring. The villages operate with an unusual attitude towards public space, as each fisher locates as close or as far as they like to their fellow fishers. Each fishing shack is a modest structure that satisfies the basic needs of shelter and is small enough to be pulled by a vehicle.
The image at the top is from the 'Hybrid House' exhibition at the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art. It depicts the nature of the shanty construction of Caracas, being a careful negotiation between units and private and public space. Each unit distinguishes itself from the other given its material composition, however they are integral to a larger whole. Perhaps the ice shack can be implemented in such as manner, as they are both modest and informal constructions of salvaged and scrap materials.
