Kavel Rafferty

“My work has a slight tinge of nostalgia because of the use of time-worn, second-hand acquisitions. I love a happy accident and want this spontaneity and unplanned nature to show in my work. It is important to me to acknowledge these ‘mistakes’. 

These finds can include anything from old porno mags and cookery books to gardening publications and knitting pamphlets. Rafferty says: “These gathered materials are then examined, altered and combined to form a new image, a new narrative. I am looking at what is removed and what remains once an image is doctored, the text is removed or sections are cut – adding and subtracting until I have something I am happy with aesthetically.”

“Before the pandemic, I went on a residency in Mexico City. I guess I was looking for a change and to work more on my own work, rather than commissioned work. I spent six weeks making collages, painting and going to flea markets, which is my favourite thing, and then came back and we went into lockdown. So I had all this inspiration and all the things I’d just started. I spent the next two years… actually just making work every day that I loved and that I wanted to do, because there was no pressure.”

-CeneMagazine

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