Retrofits
To retrofit is to modify something made in another time, adapting it to function under new conditions. In this new solo exhibition created for the Cavan Arts Festival and Townhall Arts Centre, John Rainey adopts this logic of reuse – cutting into, combining, and reworking familiar forms from the history of sculpture to reflect contemporary pressures, values, and ways of seeing.
In Retrofits, figures shift between references, forming hybrid configurations that disrupt expectations of classical sculpture. Human and animal elements merge, creating figures shaped by transition and uncertainty. Rather than presenting fixed ideals, the sculptures propose bodies formed through adaptation, defined by their capacity to shift, combine, and take new form.
For more information: townhallartscentre.com
