Dough as a bridge from the present back to human settlement in the region around Mesopotamia, where the cropping, storing, and processing of grains played a key role. Back to the origins of civilisation as we know it, when patriarchal structures emerged, and back to a domestication process that changed the morphology and behaviour of animals, plants, and humans forever; essentially always drawing on standardised, targeted, monitored reproduction. The Zukunftshof is a visionary urban agricultural concept in the former Haschahof in Vienna’s Favoriten district. The old four-sided farmyard located where the city of Vienna transitions into farmland, resembles a time capsule. It’s a relic from the 19^th century and a place of practiced utopias. It offers ample possibilities for artist Jasmin Hoffer – and for the dough, in which something new might come to life. By entering into some sort of relationship.

The performance will take place in co-operation with the agri_culture initiative that has undertaken to encourage socio-ecological change via gardening, agriculture, and art. The initiative’s work is based on a non-exploitative, egalitarian attitude towards all living beings in the territory, from the components and microogranisms of the soil to the crops and any old hare that might hop by.

The wheat poem:

 Dear wheat,
Our paths have been crossing for 10,000 years
You were growing wild – I was free to choose
I made a hole in the ground and covered you with earth – your first home
Manipulated your genetic code and your morphology
Made you depend on me harvesting you – your spikelets firm and closed
I gave up mobility, and sealed my hymen – to become a harvested woman, an allocated wife

Jasmin Hoffer is a dancer, choreographer, and performance artist. She lives and works in Vienna. In 2014, she achieved her master’s degree in dance education in a contemporary context and the Cologne University of Music and Dance. Before that, she studied dance at the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance in Dundee and painting in the masterclass for painting at the Ortweinschule in Graz. In 2018, she received the Austrian Federal Chancellor’s Office’s START scholarship. Her performing and teaching took her to Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Italy, Palestine, and the United States. In varying constellations and formats, she works with artists such as Liv Schellander, Sara Lanner, Elena Kristofor, Oleg Soulimenko, and Alfredo Barsuglia. Her works have been presented at Tanzquartier Wien, brut Wien, and WUK performing arts.