Dead Ends and Detours

Dead Ends and Detours by Walyalup (Fremantle)-based artist Bruno Booth puts the audience in a wheelchair and demonstrates that disability is not a dirty word. Playful and subversive, this interactive outdoor installation invites passers-by to compete in an obstacle course in the Perth Cultural Centre. Using a wheelchair, race against the clock and the system in a game of will. Mixing sculpture and installation, sport, urban design, and disability aesthetics, with cultural references ranging from the Paralympics and Speedway to Evel Knievel, this subversive work offers a direct insight into the lived experience of physical disability. Inspired by the navigational challenges artist Bruno Booth faces as a wheelchair user, this work recasts disability as a skill set to be celebrated within an empathetic and empowering game.