Creating the Spectacle!: Underwater Wheelchair Video
Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2012/07/28 - Updated: 2023/10/09
Publication Type: News
Category Topic: Wild and Wacky Wheelchairs - Academic Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main
Synopsis: Sue Austin in underwater scuba equipment riding a self-propelled underwater wheelchair in the video clips Creating the Spectacle!. Austin has created, with the support of diving experts, an underwater wheelchair outfitted with a propeller and fins that allow her to steer.
Introduction
Sue Austin, from Devon, has been using a wheelchair since 1996 after contracting ME and has invented and helped create the world's first self-propelled underwater wheelchair with a team of diving experts.
Main Content
In the lead up to the London 2012 Festival during the Olympic and Paralympic Games Ms Austin has staged a series of stunning underwater scuba performances called "Creating the Spectacle!" to show off her underwater art. "Creating the Spectacle!" is a ground breaking series of live art and film events that record an underwater wheelchair as it flies through the water with its human occupant.
"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"
Creating the Spectacle! Part 1: Finding Freedom
The underwater wheelchair enables Sue Austin to go on a gentle, dream like exploration of an exotic underwater world. Through unexpected juxtapositions, this work aims to excite and inspire by creating images that transform preconceptions.
Creating the Spectacle! Part 2: Finding the Flame
This is the second film in the "Creating the Spectacle!" Online series. It was a special commission from LOCOG for the Paralympic Flame Festivals.
Austin has created, with the support of diving experts, an underwater wheelchair outfitted with a propeller and fins that allow her to steer. With it, she gracefully hovers through the deep ocean, mingling with fish and flying past coral reefs.
The underwater wheelchair is equipped with a clear fin, making the artificial device seem slightly less out of place in the serene ocean.
Finding a suitable dive propulsion vehicle to propel the chair was initially difficult because most propeller models were designed to be hand-held and Ms Austin lacked the strength to hold on to them. Eventually she trialled a model that was designed for divers with disabilities - and then added two to the wheelchair.
The wheelchair is equipped with swimming floats, fins, two foot-controlled drive propulsion vehicles, and steered with a bespoke fin and foot-operated acrylic strip. The underwater wheelchair also required a more robust seat to handle the pressure placed upon it during a performance.
The artist also performed swimming pool acrobatics in an underwater wheelchair as part of the Cultural Olympiad celebrations.
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.