A fascinating new exhibition, Mann Underground, opens on Saturday 28 February in the Cabinet of Curiosities at the Manx Museum, inviting visitors to discover the hidden world beneath the Island’s landscape. The exhibition explores one man’s lifelong fascination and self-confessed “obsession” with the subterranean passages and forgotten mine workings of Laxey and Lonan.
Major Shane Lucas, a former British Army officer and passionate caving enthusiast, has spent decades exploring the Island’s historic mines. Following his military career, he worked for Isle of Man Government surveying the Great Laxey Mine, gaining rare first-hand knowledge of the complex network of tunnels that once powered the Island’s industrial prosperity.
Through meticulous research, Major Lucas has also uncovered many of the human stories behind the industry including of men, women and children whose hard, often dangerous work shaped the communities of the Laxey valley in the Victorian era and beyond.
Now retired, Major Shane Lucas channels his extraordinary experiences underground into art. His striking two-dimensional and three-dimensional works capture the atmosphere, mystery and physical intensity of life beneath the surface, offering a perspective that few others can share.
Matthew Richardson, Curator of Art & Social History at Manx National Heritage, said:
“Manx National Heritage is delighted to be working with Major Lucas and to offer visitors the chance to experience his distinctive and powerful artwork. Shane’s understanding of the mines around Laxey is truly unique.
Major Lucas is one of only a few living people who have explored much of the Mine complex first-hand and knows better than most what it feels like to be several hundred feet underground: wet, cold and reliant on little more than a rope and lamp. That real life experience of the Great Laxey Mine is very rare, giving his work an authenticity and depth that is both thought-provoking and compelling”.
Mann Underground opens on Saturday 28 February and runs until Sunday 4 May 2026 at the Manx Museum. Admission is free, with donations warmly welcome.
Visitors are invited to discover a powerful and personal perspective on the Island’s industrial heritage, brought to life by someone who has explored deep within the historic Great Laxey Mines and experienced this hidden world first-hand.
—ENDS—