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CULTCHURCH

Cultchurch (2024) is an experimental group performance created in a black box setting, where all group members contributed their own ideas to shape the final experience. The project was a collective exploration of ritual, symbolism, and immersive theatre. Together, we designed a fictional cult-like church ritual that draws the audience into a mysterious and unsettling world.

At the heart of the performance is an offering ceremony, where the “offered one” activates glowing ritual pillars through motion-tracked movement. As the pillars light up one by one, the atmosphere becomes increasingly intense. Once all are activated, the participant must step into the center, where a stained-glass window reveals the god chosen by the cult: vodka.
Note: This experience includes flashing lights and immersive sound.



Makers:

Chenoa de Boer: DMX lights
Annemieke: helping testing motion tracking
Jesse: Projection mapping
Casper: AI generate visual window
Tibbey: Sound design











Meaning of THE CULTCHURCH


In Cultchurch, a participant is “offered” to the ritual and allowed to choose their own god. They explore the space, activating every pillar at least once through movement. Once all pillars have been lit, they must remain in the center, where the stained-glass window transforms to reveal the god they have personally chosen.

This process explores themes of sacrifice, agency, and personal belief. It emphasizes that even within structured rituals, individuals assign their own meanings and significance to symbols and gods. The transformation of the glass into a self-chosen deity reflects the subjective nature of faith and ritual, inviting reflection on how meaning is created and experienced individually.





Working DMX light
First working motion capture test
Colored light test
Flickering fire light
Testing with more lights
Projection mapping test









































The proces and technical approach



The project was a collaborative effort where every team member brought a unique contribution to the experience. I was responsible for programming the DMX-controlled lights and developing the interactive system in TouchDesigner, which linked motion tracking cameras and motion capture to the real-time lighting sequence.

The audio design was also dynamic, changing based on the participant’s position within the space, creating a fully immersive soundscape that reacts to movement and location.

  • Tibbey created the sound ambience, layering abstract ritualistic tones and ambient textures to reinforce the mood.

  • Jesse designed and built the stained-glass element, which served as the final visual reveal during the ritual.

  • Casper worked on AI-generated visual transformations, altering the stained-glass imagery dynamically to create a surreal moment of revelation.

  • Annemieke helped with testing and calibrating the DMX lights, ensuring that the lighting setup was consistent and responsive throughout.

The performance combined interactive media, light design, sound, and physical movement, creating a seamless experience where the environment reacts directly to the participant’s body. The result is a ritual that feels sacred, strange, and oddly believable—inviting the audience to question the structures we follow, and the meanings we assign to them.