He modified his wheelchair so that he could use it underwater. Two propulsion engines, a kind of custom fin and a pedal that works like a rudder. The aim of Sue Austin, a disabled artist confined to a wheelchair for 16 years, was to transform what people perceive as a limitation into something incredible, one that even allowed them to immerse themselves in the depths of the oceans. Because a disabled person is no different.
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He modified his wheelchair so you can use it underwater. Two propulsion engines, a kind of custom fin and a pedal that works like a rudder. The pourpose of Sue austin, a disabled artist confined to a wheelchair for 16 years, was to transform what people perceive as a limitation into something incredible, that even allowed to immerse oneself in the depths of the oceans. Because a disabled person is no different in anything.
It was tough at first, says Sue, who also kicked off the Freewheeling initiative to promote disability-related art projects. But, despite the resistance of those who believed that going underwater with his chair it would have been impossible, with her tenacity she managed to build “Testing the Water“. So she called her her prototype.
“When we started talking to people about the project, the engineers told us that the wheelchair would spin because it wasn't designed to travel through water. But with a thruster under the chair, all the thrust brings you up, in order to rotate. Sure, it was much more acrobatic than I expected ", continues Sue, who, after months of testing and hard training, left for the Red Sea, with the aim of exploring it aboard her" Testing the Water ".
It is here that the artist made a series of films entitled “Creating the Spectacle”, which immortalize her as she whirls freely in the water. In the background, the colorful tropical marine life. Also, since the water was hot, she wears everyday clothes, which make the images even more extraordinary. Video required six days of filming, for a total of over 20 minutes of diving.
All this because, when Sue started using the wheelchair, “it was as if a cloak of invisibility had come down on me. When I asked people what their associations were with the wheelchair, they used words like limit, fear and restriction ... I knew I needed to write my own stories of this experience ". One of the first artistic expressions of this new path was "Traces from a Wheelchair", in 2009, in which Sue "drew" with her chair rounded shapes on huge sheets of paper or on the lawn outside the gallery where the show.
“The wheelchair, therefore, seen as an object for painting and playing. It was exciting to see the responses from interested and surprised people. It seemed to open up new perspectives “. Perspectives. And don't limit. Game. And don't be afraid. For this we can't wait to find out what the next challenge will be. That he is preparing for conquer the sky too?
Roberta Ragni
READ also:
- TerraForm: the garden within reach of disabled people
- Kenguru: the electric car for the disabled
