New Artlink exhibition opens at Dunree on Culture Night

A new site-specific exhibition by visual artist Susan Mannion, Losing Cohesion – Looking For The Beauty In Decay, will open at 6pm in the Saldanha Gallery at Artlink Fort Dunree on Culture Night, Friday 19th September 2025. 

This special and poignant exhibition, promises a captivating evening of art, conversation, and stunning views. The show then continues, free of charge, from  September 20 until October 18.

Susan Mannion is a full-time Irish visual artist specialising in printmaking and enamelling. Her work, abstracted from her emotional connection to the environment, has been exhibited in 11 solo shows and numerous group exhibitions at prestigious venues like the Royal Academies of Art in London, Dublin, Belfast, and Scotland, as well as internationally. A recipient of the Merrion Plinth Award 2022, she has also received a prestigious award from the Japan Enamel Artists Association. Her work is held in collections worldwide.

‘Losing Cohesion’ is a direct and heartfelt response to the unique environment of Fort Dunree itself. Susan Mannion has drawn inspiration from the quiet, persistent erosion of the site's buildings and landforms – the rusting iron, the exposed wooden frames, and the beautiful attrition caused by wind, rain, and sea over time.

The exhibition will feature a new collection of enamel panels, small sculptural enamel pieces, and unique Polaroid photographs, all exploring the textures and stories of decay. Susan has masterfully used techniques that mirror the environment itself, distressing and refiring enamels on copper to create surfaces that echo the rusted corrugated iron of buildings on the site of the fort.

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Sharing her excitement ahead of the open event, Susan Mannion said: “I’ve wanted to create this exhibition for some time, waiting until I had built up enough experience and study material to do justice to this incredible place. Fort Dunree has been a muse for me over many visits; its structures tell such a powerful story of time and nature. I’ve challenged myself with new techniques to capture that essence – and I can’t wait to share this very personal body of work with everyone.

Artlink Project Coordinators Alison Hancock and Martha McCulloch, are delighted to be hosting Susan’s new exhibition: “We are so pleased to welcome Susan Mannion back to Artlink with this profoundly thoughtful exhibition” says Alison. “Her work doesn’t just hang in the gallery; it speaks directly to the landscape outside our windows, inviting us to see the familiar beauty of Fort Dunree in a completely new light.”

Martha added: “Culture Night is the perfect moment to launch ‘Losing Cohesion’. It’s a night for discovery and engaging with art in a welcoming way. Susan’s work is both technically impressive and deeply moving. We encourage everyone to come along, soak in the atmosphere, and experience this beautiful dialogue between art and environment.” 

For further information about ‘Losing Cohesion – Looking for the beauty in decay’   or upcoming exhibitions and workshops at Artlink,  visit www.artlink.ie Facebook.com/Artlinkfortdunreepage or contact a member of the Artlink team on 0838696513.