In 2010, visual artist Sue Austin received a grant from that allowed her to transform her wheelchair into a propelled, finned, scuba-tank-outfitted craft suited for underwater exploration. She designed it so that she could move the foot pedals to control the fins and change directions. She unveiled a series of photos and videos showing off the creation leading up to the . Though Austin's original motivation was artistic, outfitters have expressed interest in using the device for adventure-seeking clients. “We've had PADI [Professional Association of Diving Instructors]
course directors and very experienced divers saying they would pay to
hire it,” she told .
Austin has been in a wheelchair since 1996. In Tuesday's featured , embedded below, Austin describes her
evolution from land-based visual artist to underwater performance artist.
鈥擩oe Spring