Failure

This is a woodcut I've created that will eventually be part of a series. The set of images were inspired by the sprinter Asafa Powell who holds the mens 100m record at an incredible 9.74. Yet despite being the fastest man in the world, also the only sprinter to legally run the 100 in under 9.80 more than once (he's done it 5 times), his list of medals is far shorter than it should be. He finished 5th at the Athens Olympics and third at last years World Championships. I wanted to do a series that described the emotions of an athlete finishing a race and knowing that he had the potential to do better. Anyone who has competed at a high level in any sport can empathise with the disappointment and agony that failure brings.