'Heklina was a beacon': Beloved San Francisco drag queen remembered as a ‘legend’ of the queer community
“Mother” and Oasis co-founder, who was in London at time of death where she was performing with Peaches Christ, remembered in impromptu wake
"Born Stefan Grygelk in Minneapolis, the entertainer moved to San Francisco after living in Iceland and began widely gaining recognition as Heklina — inspired by the volcano Hekla— after co-founding “Trannyshack” in 1996. A late Tuesday night drag event, “the shack” became known as one of the most experimental, artistically daring drag venues in the Bay Area, regarded for its defiant, post-Punk aesthetic that came to influence much of the local drag that came after it."
I always felt like I should photograph the Trannyshack flyers that were up on the poles around the neighborhood, some of them were brilliant. Club flyers are some of my favorite ephemera from the 90s.
