In recent years, the growth of programs such as the Handicapped Scuba Association and Diveheart (among many others) have greatly opened up scuba diving to the disabled. Parapeligics, quadrapeligics, and even the blind now have the ability and training to become divers and explore a world previously reserved for others.
While disabled divers don’t normally explore the underwater world in a wheelchair, filmmaker and artistic director Sue Austin has created a unique series of live art and film events that record a wheelchaired-bound diver beautifully gliding underwater. It’s not a new training technique or certification course, rather an artistic expression designed to inspire and transform preconceptions.
“Through the performative presentation of a diverse embodiment, the main focus for this work is about reconfiguring preconceptions through the use of dramatic and unexpected juxtapositions that act to surprise, open up thinking and then, through that reordering of associations, to create empowered and empowering narratives. This manifests in an artistic practice that makes use of “surreal juxtapositions and quirky re-presentations of disability equipment to facilitate new ways of seeing, being and knowing”
Take a look at this incredible video below. To learn more about this unique project, visit the “Creating the Spectacle” site by clicking here.
