Published: Thursday, 15th May, 2008 07:00
That sinking feeling
By Lucy Thorne
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It was Chris Gollon’s fascination with the tragi-comedy, the grotesque and the absurd that has led to The River and Rowing Museum commissioning his work. Indeed, he was asked to focus on the pain of losing.
Paul Mainds, trustee and chief executive of River and Rowing Museum, explained: “For each Henley winner there are many more losers. In choosing Chris, we were looking for someone who would really ignore the traditional jolliness and strawberries of so many Henley paintings and look at the very heart of the matter.
“I wanted Chris to explore what is going on in that lonely moment when defeat ends a season’s training. The emotion of losing and the bitterness of defeat are feelings that bind athletes and fans together, and something to which we can all relate.
“Chris’ work is powerful and evocative. I am sure that it will inspire audiences to think about sporting success and defeat.”
Chris’ work was only finished a day before it was hung in the museum’s gallery.
He said: “As usual, I left everything to the last minute, but I work better under pressure.
“I had never done sporting pictures before but I was invited to the Regatta and was struck by the fact there was no recognition for the losers.
“Paul liked that idea because he knows what it is like to lose.
“To begin with I struggled to see how I would get all the drama on such a small canvas. It had to be obviously Henley, otherwise it could have been anywhere, so I wanted to get the church and the bridge in.”
The exhibition includes Chris’ studies, which help to illustrate how he reached his final work.
He explained: “One of the only specifications I was given was to let the museum have some of my workings for the final piece, they wanted to show how it evolved from the start to the finish. That is not something I have done before, usually these sketches would end up in the bin – I like to destroy the evidence.”
He added: “To begin with I thought I was going to do silhouettes of the rowers. But with the silks I realised I was better doing more still life.
“I used models to sit for the characters – I find it easier to work with my favourites.
“I made a few mistakes but that was how the work evolved.”
Chris attended the Regatta in 2007 and made quick sketches and took a series of photographs.
He said: “I was fascinated by the Regatta, it is unlike most other sports. There are people having lunch, eating lobster, while the rowers are slogging it out on the water.
“Sport can be more about human emotion than the actual event.
“Winning has become a lot more fist clenching, and a big deal, which makes it worse for the losers. And with rowing, I’ve been told it didn’t use to be like that.” He added: “The pain of not reaching one’s goals is something we can all relate to. In a physical sport like rowing the heaviness and loneliness of defeat is touching. I was taken by the drama of the competition, the determination and brutal effort to win, quickly followed by the sharpness of losing. This is what I’ve tried to capture in my paintings.”
Gollon at Henley will be on display at the The River and Rowing Museum, Mills Meadows, Henley, until July 6.
This year’s Royal Regatta will be held from July 2-6. Contact 01491 415600 or go online www.rrm.co.uk
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