Out of Ice by Scottish artist Elizabeth Ogilvie is a dramatic new exhibition comprising environments created with ice and ice melt, constructions, films and projections of ice systems. It is an exploration of the poetics of ice with much of it created through collaborations with Inuit in Northern Greenland, reflecting on their deep and sustaining relationship with ice. It also presents film from the scientific expedition from Antarctica, the Lake Ellsworth Consortium led by Martin Siegert and supported by the British Antarctic Survey. 

The use and knowledge of the ice-covered sea remains the pillar of the Inuit’s identity and resilience and their most prized intellectual treasure. Immersive and contemplative, the exhibition seeks to portray the psychological, physical and poetic dimensions of ice and water whilst drawing attention to ice processes. It suggests that absence of ice poses a real danger to our planet. Describing the presence of ice in the world from a human perspective, it reveals the observational traditions of fieldwork, combined with visual splendour. 

Described as one of the most significant artists of her generation in Scotland, Elizabeth Ogilvie has a strong track record in realising large scale projects which challenge conventions. Her work is a fusion of art, architecture and science, with water and ice as the main focus for her practice. 

Powder Her Face charts the glamorous rise and seedy fall of the notorious socialite beauty Margaret, Duchess of Argyll. A former deb of the year, the ‘Dirty Duchess’ was at the centre of a scandalous divorce case in 1963, the year of the Profumo Affair, when the Establishment was caught with its pin-striped trousers round its ankles. Drawing on episodes from the Duchess’s colourful life, not least her sexually voracious appetite, a mythical portrayal of this elegant yet ultimately tragic figure emerges

Powder Her Face launched Adès’s international career in 1995 and remains one of his most performed works. His dazzlingly precocious score is as witty, poignant and memorable as the Duchess herself, paying homage to the popular idioms of cabaret and tango, as well as to Weill, Berg and Stravinsky.

Making his opera directing debut is Joe Hill-Gibbins, one of the most exciting talents in British theatre, in a new site-specific production created within Ambika P3, London’s newest performing environment. Productions at the Royal Court (The Village Bike) and Young Vic (The Glass Menagerie) have earned Hill-Gibbins a loyal following and his recent National Theatre staging of Marlowe’s Edward II has only served to confirm his reputation. Returning to ENO after triumphs in Janácek, Britten and Strauss is Olivier Award-winning soprano Amanda Roocroft as the infamous Duchess.

Running time:
2hrs 20mins (including one interval)

Performance Dates:
2, 4, 8, 10, 14, 16 April, 7:30pm
5, 12, 19 April, 6:30pm 

Signed Performance:
Thursday 10 April

Pre-performance Talk:
Friday 4 April, 5:45pm. With Director Joe Hill-Gibbins plus librettist Philip Hensher. £5/£2.50 concessions. 

For further information: https://www.eno.org/powder