Some people hoard clothes, but Priscilla Sutton realised she was the type who hoarded legs when she cleaned out her cupboard six years ago.

Rather than get rid of her old prosthetic legs, Ms Sutton, a 37-year-old amputee who grew up in regional Queensland, decided to put hers to good use.

"You're not supposed to chuck them out in the wheelie bin — you can just imagine the poor garbage man watching a foot being crushed!" she said.

In an attempt to justify her hoarding habits, Ms Sutton asked a number of creative friends to turn the prosthetic legs into artwork.

"Then they're art and I'm not hoarding," she laughed.

"But then I thought if I have a couple of legs in the cupboard within five years, imagine how many arms and legs there are all around the world that people aren't getting rid of, but will never use again."

Ms Sutton's epiphany has since led to her helping exhibit prosthetic limbs in multiple exhibitions worldwide.

The exhibitions, titled Spare Parts, include intricately decorated prosthetic limbs that have been donated from people in Australia, America and Laos.

Ms Sutton is planning to feature the Spare Parts exhibition in Tokyo during the 2020 Paralympics. ( Supplied: Priscilla Sutton )

Making a life-changing decision

Ms Sutton was born in Biloela in central Queensland, but spent a large portion of her childhood in Mackay.

"I often go back to visit my family, most of whom still live there," she said.

Now based in Canberra, Ms Sutton recalled the decision she made more than a decade ago that changed her life.

"I actually had elective surgery to become an amputee about 11 years ago," she said.

"It sounds a little crazy, but I was born with a bone condition that was getting worse and worse, and I had chronic pain.

"I had been living in Tokyo and the walk from the train station to my apartment was not that long, but it was long enough that every day I dreaded it.

"One night I was doing the walk home, and I remember it so clearly, down this really quiet suburban street with the street lamps, and I was in so much pain and I was limping along with no taxis in sight.

"I stood there crying with tears going down my cheeks and I thought 'This is it ... there has to be an easier way to live'.

"So I made that decision to chop my leg off and start again, and it was the best decision I made in my life."

Taboos surrounding disabilities

Ms Sutton said having a disability felt at times similar to breastfeeding.

"I have compared it to breastfeeding in public when you take your leg off; to me it's this completely natural thing and I don't understand why people would be so shocked, because it's like taking off a knee-high boot or something," she said.

This artwork, titled Patterns of the Land, featured in the 2013 Brisbane exhibition. It was painted by Elisa Jane Carmichael. ( Supplied: Priscilla Sutton )

"But the looks you get from people, you think 'We need to get over this guys ... there's no blood and guts here. I'm stitched up — it's all good."

"There's enough taboo as it is around disability in the world, and still in Australia.

"I it find amazing that it's 2016 and there's still taboo and you don't want to make eye contact with someone who looks different.

"So I have found that being really open has actually created much more enjoyment and comfort."

Ms Sutton owns two prosthetic legs, and one of them, like the ones showcased in the exhibitions, is covered in decorative artwork.

"I've made friendships. It's great when you're sitting there with this smoking hot prosthetic leg and someone says 'I love your leg, where did you get it?'" she said.

"Then you start having these big conversations about legs, prosthetics and arms and all sorts of things ... and through the power of colour prosthetics, it can really open those conversations and get people talking."

Eyes set on 2020 Paralympics

Four years ago, Ms Sutton's exhibition featured in London during the Paralympics.

Fast forward another four years and she has got her eyes set on the Tokyo Paralympics.

"I have already started planning to do another exhibition in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, and for me that's kind of really important," she said.

"That's where I was living when I decided to become an amputee, and so I feel like I'm going home in a sense with this idea, and I look forward to seeing it to come to life in Tokyo."