News
In short:
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Commissioned by Roscommon County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, under the Community Strand of the Decade of Centenaries programme for Culture Night 2021 to create a film and sculpture for Culture Night.
Date: 17th September 2021
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Solo Exhibition opening at the Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart.
Title: Beyond Darkness
Dates: 18th September - 30th October 2021
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Commissioned to create the Bank of Ireland Staff Recognition Awards Sculpture 2021, fourteen awards to be presented in mid-september 2021.
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Awarded funding from Bank of Ireland Begin Together Arts Fund and Business To Arts to create a new artwork to be exhibition tied during Boyle Arts Festival July 2021
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Awarded a commission by the Office of Public Works under the Percent for Art Scheme in collaboration with the National Parks & Wildlife Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Mayo County Council Arts Service, marking the tenth anniversary of the Visitor Centre at Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park. To be installed November 2021.
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4th Wood Engravers Triennial Exhibition, USA May, 2020-December 2022
In more detail:
The River Remembers - stories from the Roscommon Shannon River basin
Use the QR code to access a film specially commissioned for Culture Night 17th September 2021 from artists Susan Mannion, Rory Pierce, Matthew Gammon and Conor Horgan.
This Culture Night – Decade of Centenaries 1921::2021 commissioned film and accompanying sculpture mark the second in a series of artistic commissions from artists to reflect on Roscommon’s role in the struggle for independence.
Artist Susan Mannion was awarded the 2021 commission for her proposal to create a sculpture and a film. The river and associated stories provide the basis for an artistic interpretation of the development of the nation since 1921 linking to specific points along the River Shannon basin in County Roscommon.
The sculpture created by Susan Mannion will be on display at King House, Boyle, on Culture Night, Friday 17th September 2021.
Funded by Roscommon County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, under the Community Strand of the Decade of Centenaries programme for Culture Night 2021.
Solo Exhibition opening at the Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart.
Title: Beyond Darkness
Dates: 18th September - 30th October 2021
Beyond Darkness is a new exhibition by Boyle based visual artist Susan Mannion. The new works of enamel on steel and copper are a response to the past few months of living with COVID restrictions.
Featured in this exhibition is a large scale enamel work on a panel on the floor of this gallery. It depicts and tries to convey the sensation of being contained in a small space during COVID-19 lockdowns and how we looked towards nature and the outdoors for emotional balance.
The elements of nature run through this exhibition reflecting our dependency upon it as a means to escape from our enclosed spaces during lockdown. This body of work has grown out of a sense of restless energy and a need for change and adaption.
Awarded funding from Bank of Ireland Begin Together Arts Fund and Business To Arts to create a new artwork to be exhibited during Boyle Arts Festival July 2021
Title of artwork: Within Our Grasp
“What a strange year” is the most common thing I have heard during this prolonged COVID-19 period. I have kept a written and visual diary of what people have said to me, their feelings, triumphs, sadness and loneliness expressed in this time. I have recorded my own feelings too, frustrations and celebrations as the artworld changed. I took the opportunity to create a new artwork based on these experiences, paying tribute to the people of my town, their resilience and community spirit in such adverse times. I created a large-scale enamelled panel sculpture which is displayed here in the Library Courtyard during the Boyle Arts Festival 2021.
The Artwork:
This enamel work was created from 72 copper panels with sifted enamel powder applied to the metal surface. The copper and enamel powder are heated in a kiln to 900 degrees Celsius so that the enamel liquifies and bonds with the copper, forming a glass skin on the metal surface. Gold and silver leaf have been applied to some areas of the sculpture.
The lower section of the artwork reflects on the nature of the COVID-19 restrictions, particularly, staying at home and not traveling beyond two kilometres. The wallpaper motif in the background references that some historical wallpapers were made with arsenic, a poisonous substance, indicating that home was not always a safe place for people.
The upper section of the artwork shows the resilience of the human spirit and how we found relief from emotional stress through the natural world around us, walking and cold water swimming. The earth is depicted as a very small entity as we shared a common purpose.
Film: A short film accompanies this artwork. The film can be viewed from the Boyle Arts Festival websites and on social media.
I would like to thank -
Bank of Ireland Begin Together Arts Fund and Business To Arts for financial support and the assistance offered by staff. The Boyle Arts Festival Committee, Roscommon County Council, John Keville Engineering, Cormac Callery, Pure Designs. The People of Boyle for their support and resilience during these “strange times”
Commission Award
I was awarded a commission by the Office of Public Works under the Percent for Art Scheme in collaboration with the National Parks & Wildlife Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Mayo County Council Arts Service, marking the tenth anniversary of the Visitor Centre at Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park.
As part of the award, I created a solo exhibition of my enamel work and a short film about the enamelling processes I use in my artwork. The exhibition was installed and opened and can be viewed during the Visitor Centre opening hours.
The short film, What is Enamelling? can be seen below:
4th Wood Engravers Triennial Exhibition, USA
May 2020-Decmeber 2022
This is presently an on-line exhibition during the Coronavirus restrictions, but will travel to various galleries in the USA after the restrictions are relaxed. The work can be seen and purchased at the link below.
Isthmus II, Wood Engravers Network Exhibition, USA
