soft at first
rough at least

January 29
Open Studio
Door opens: 6.30 pm
Intervention: 7 pm

by
Karine Blanche Seror
Ivan Jakaric
Jasmin Hoffer

In times of precarity,

three artists
with different backgrounds
meet
around food as a material
and
cooking as an artistic practice.

They reduce their *champ d’application* to the essential,
giving themselves the opportunity, at least, to nurture themselves.

They develop theory,
bridging language structures and cooking techniques.
They trace a line between hypermateriality and immateriality,
dancing in between the two ranges.

Like in politics,
they oscillate between opposition and negotiation,
challenging the binary,
transforming friction into creation,
and discord into shared sustenance.

They have a crust.
They are crust breakers.

For this project, they dedicate themselves to Crust Cooking,
exploring its techniques, ingredients, and recipes.
They develop a parallel language interweaving
gesture, visuals, soundscapes, and taste.

The phrase “They have a crust” refers to the English expression for “effrontery,” embodying boldness, resilience, and the courage to challenge norms.
“They are crust breakers” reflects their approach—breaking boundaries, dismantling conventions, and creating space for transformation.
The word *crust* also alludes to “earning one’s crust,” the struggle to sustain oneself.

Beyond that, it speaks to themes of transformation, resilience, and the tension between destruction and preservation. The crust symbolizes both fragility and protection—a threshold between rupture and inner vitality.

This evening is an invitation to explore the world of the crust:
its textures, meanings, and the stories it can hold.

You are warmly invited to join us as we share our work in progress,
breaking the crust together.

Text: Karine Blanche Seror

Picture: Ivan Jakaric

Karine Blanche
a French poet of Algerian origin living in Vienna, reconnects with otherness by defocusing the human from its constructed narrative. She explores erased, impossible or inaccessible histories by listening to materials and gestures, questioning the belief systems behind them. Her work blends organic matter, abiotic factors, and anthropological perspectives to create unexpected combinations. Karine’s artistic practice merges sound, smell, visual and textual, expressed between the line in performance, concert, or installation.
After a background in sociology and social theatre, studies in Botany and Biology, her research has taken her to various locations including Japan, Panama, Romania and received in 2022 a grant from the Austrian Federal Ministry for anartistic research in Iceland on „Re-membering with Landscape“.
Karine Blanche has collaborated with various international artists as Tarek Atoui, Armand Gatti, Koo Jeong A, Jennifer Lacey, Alix Eynaudi, Franz Poelstra and Julia Zastava and performed at Wiener FestWochen (At), Tanzquartier (At), Sonic Territories Festival (At), TeaterCombinat (At), France Télévision (Fr), La Cartoucherie (Fr) abd la Menagerie de Verre (Fr).

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 at 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.

Ivan Jakarić
is an experimental bio-ludic artist, architect, and planetary gardener based in Vienna, Austria. A graduate of the University of Applied Arts Vienna, his academic magic circle spans experimental game cultures, biodesign, architecture, and stage and film design. Through BioLudicLab, a symbiotic incubator and Cabinet of Curiosities, he explores connections between humans, non-humans, and ecosystems using biomaterials, ludic methods, and non-human agencies. Focusing on the societal and ecological impact of games, he creates projects ranging from digital gameplays to physical installations, addressing themes like sensory experience, environmental sustainability, queer ecology, and bioludic fashion.