De Glazen Kerk (Church of Glass) | QWERTY/AZERTY Studios

The background to the project De Glazen Kerk (Church of Glass) is the bankruptcy of the church of the grandmother of Matthijs Vuijk, the maker behind QWERTY/AZERTY Studios. Vuijk translates the desire to capture what was in danger of disappearing into a poetic 15-minute VR essay. The user explores, from the perspective of a 900-year-old church in Kortgene, the transformations of the community, from religion to neoliberal capitalism. With a church building as the main character, the VR experience offers new insights within this theme. The work investigates how major social shifts permeate small communities and the human understanding of spirituality. By means of 3D scans, sound design and point-cloud technology, the church is brought to life as a silent witness to the past, present and future, to create new perspectives and insights in the search for meaning within society. The intended outcome after the development phase is a working prototype with at least one elaborated scene, a production plan, script and plan for release. There is a collaboration with creative director Melanie Courtinat, creative producer Mateo Vega and creative technologist Sjoers van Acker.