At the Track

At the Track captures the colour, movement and atmosphere of speedway after dark. Four riders sweep around the curve beneath the floodlights, while spectators gather around the edge of the track, an evening of sport played out against an otherwise quiet landscape.

The starting point for At the Track was an old photograph taken by my dad during a family visit to a speedway meeting when I was very young.

I don't actually remember that particular evening. My own memories of speedway come from occasional visits to Wolverhampton when I was older, but years later, looking at my dad's photograph as a painter, I saw something completely different in it.

It was the structure of the scene that caught me: the sweeping curve of the track, the riders leaning into the turn, spectators gathered around the edge and the floodlights rising above them. Beyond the track, the landscape becomes much quieter, creating a contrast between the activity of the meeting and its surroundings.

That contrast became particularly interesting after dark.

The floodlights turn the track into a temporary stage, picking out the riders and revealing its curves against the night. For a few hours, an otherwise ordinary patch of landscape becomes somewhere people gather to watch, compete and share the spectacle.

The original track is no longer there, but At the Track isn't intended as a record of one particular speedway venue. Instead, it captures something broader about these evenings, the lights, movement, spectators and distinctive atmosphere of gathering at the track.