TEMPLE OF JACKIE
In February and March 2011 Jacqueline Donachie undertook a series of physical tests in the Sports Science Department of Loughborough University. Temple of Jackie was installed on campus 9-16th November 2011
Commissioned by Radar, Loughborough University for Human Condition/ing November/ December 2011 www.lboro.ac.uk/radar Photos by Phil Wilson/ Alan Dimmick ŠJacqueline Donachie 2011
re wiry. Biceps and triceps
Av era ge
dy bo ing e g a There isn’t a lot of fat. My
ha s
mo me o c be
mo ned, re to
But at the
have f ormed fr om
end o f
these tests I wa
twenty ye
s exha
ars o f
usted a
working
nd sore. I had
the m iddle of General
P
and carrying an d lifting.
d burned, raw patc
hes on
Population, the low en
Legs have
lluli rmed through running miles of my city, an overwrought mind calmed, the loss of ce
te an added
the ruised ankle from the strapping. I worked so hard but the results put me at exactly
my legs and a b
e f averag point o
idd creationally Activ be average, in the m e. I tick the boxes of middle age. How does that feel, to
d of R e
bonus.
le of life?
Testing times - O2Max You go into a tiny room and there’s a guy with a face mask and a bicycle-like contraption. He wants you to put the mask on, and invites you to sit on the bicycle and begin pedaling. To warm up. You do this and the speed of the bike gets faster. You start to sweat. There is a length of tubing attached to a machine with a large plastic bag at one end. The tubing is forced into your mouth as you continue to cycle. He shouts at you to pedal harder. You go faster but it is difficult with the tube in your mouth, and a nose clip on. You are breathing into the bag. Faster, faster, it feels like your lungs are going to burst. It stops and you recover. He takes a blood sample from your finger. It happens again. This time faster. And again, and again. By about the 4th session your really do think you will vomit if it doesn’t stop. He is yelling and shouting at you and you want to keep going, don’t want to give up. You keep on and on. Then it stops. Your legs feel like jelly when you get off of the machine. He says you can’t take any more so they will stop now. That is your max.
For Explosive Power, you go into a room with three men and a large steel framed chair. They outline what will happen and ask you to sit.
They will attach sensors to your legs and groin, but before they do this they need to prepare your skin for the attachment to work. They produce a Tesco bag with a green scouring pad, some disposable razors and a bottle of surgical spirits.
You are strapped into the steel chair with the sensors attached.
They ask you to kick as hard as you can. You force your ankle against the velcro strapping.
They repeat this several times, you versus the velcro. You feel your neck straining and it starts to hurt your ankle
Then they want to assess how you can do it without your brain’s involvement.
A woman comes in to connect an electrode to your groin. This will use an electric pulse to make your leg kick, seven times in rapid succession. The jolt is initially minimal, but increasing. As it goes up it feels like you are being kicked in the groin repeatedly and violently. Up and up. It doesn’t feel like seven jolts, just one very hard one
The men, who are young, are impressed by your staying power. The rugby players have given up by now.
Eventually the jolts become too painful. They stop. You have reached your limit.