Rainey uses the human torso as a sculptural vehicle to address the body and time. He says: “Sometimes I feel like an archaeologist on a dig, and I tap away until an idea is revealed. The sculptures are fragments that were once coherent and complete, until time reduced them.” He often includes references to the history and mythology of Northern Ireland, where he was born, as well as to recent events. The name of the exploded red torso, Omagh, refers to the Omagh bombing, which was carried out in August 1998 by an IRA splinter group. The attack, in which 29 people were killed and more than 200 were injured, was the worst single act of terrorism experienced in Northern Ireland.