Bruno Booth – 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.

Commissioned by PICA and Next Wave and supported by PICA’s Art Commissioners and the WA Government through the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and its Theatre Development Initiative.

Recommended age: 8+ years
Duration: 5–10 minutes to complete the obstacle course