Sara Hendren’s design projects reconsider the concept of disability and make more active forms of aid possible. Hendren redesigned the existing passive wheelchair icon into one showing a more active and independent image of a person with head pointing forward, arms swung back, and a wheelchair appearing to be in motion. In Slope: Intercept, a ramp is installed on the front plaza of Seoul Museum of Art’s Seosomun Main Building. Visitors must pass this plaza to reach the hall’s entrance. When a ramp is used by a wheelchair user, it is seen as a tool to overcome passivity, but when used by a skateboarder, it is transformed into equipment for dynamic play. Slope: Intercept not only ensures accessibility for wheelchair users, but also, like skateboarders, evokes an active, fun, and dynamic image. A different version of this work is also installed in the Outdoor Sculpture Park of the Buk-Seoul Museum of Art.
