The Silicon Passion

Big tech is everywhere; in our computers, smartphones, smartwatches. Everyone eagerly takes advantage, sharing personal data to gain the most user-friendly app, device and ultimately life. We’ve all embraced big tech —but is it a warm hug or a strangulation?

Utrecht's technology-critical media lab SETUP, in collaboration with theater collective Transmission and musician Rodrigo Ferreira, is looking for a new relationship with big tech. They draw inspiration from one of the most important stories about penance: the crucifixion. Armed with Bach’s St Matthew Passion, live synthesizer music, audio and video technology and a parade of colorful characters, they want to find out exactly who or what should be nailed to the cross, and what the world might look like after a resurrection. Expect a debate of evangelical proportions between tech geeks, technology and its users.

“The Utrecht based collective SETUP, specialized in combining art and IT, invites the audience to reflect on the increasing technological turn in our civilization and its consequences for humankind. Is technology responsible for its impact or those (“big data”) who control it? In a funny and light way, SETUP one of the most important questions of civilization nowadays: do we use technology or does technology use us?” – Grzegorz Reske, artistic director SPRING