[IED] Hypertext Jump!: Co-constructing Rhizomatic Narrative

The artwork titled '≠' (Not Equal) challenges the concept of '=' (Equal). In this context, '=' represents the act of equating the intangible with numbers, the illiterate with the literate, simplifying complex matters, and the tendency to believe in the existence of a simple truth or framework to comprehend the complexities of the world. This framework often takes the form of equality, observed in statistical equations, financial equations, machine learning equations, and social science equations. In academia, theories that employ equations to explain the world are often celebrated, while in industry, the notion that "data is truth" prevails, seeking to convert intangible concepts into tangible numbers. However, we have also witnessed the negative consequences of this emphasis on equality, such as unpredictability, black swan events, and the reduction of our lives to numerical representations, turning us into mere statistics. Equality embodies the modern notion of linearity and centralisation, heavily influencing our daily lives.

Therefore, '≠' symbolises the deconstruction of this centralised system. The web artwork, '≠', with its four-channel structure, allows people to experience a hyper-textual leap from one keyword to another, embracing a rhizomatic structure that may appear chaotic, but chaos is inherent to the nature of the world. For instance, this rhizomatic hypertextual jump can be as simple as moving from 'Liberty' to 'Freedom', as complex as transitioning from 'Quantum Physics' to 'Postmodernity', as personal as navigating from 'Break up' to 'Post-breakup clubbing', or as metonymical as from 'Liberty' to 'Liberty Department Store'. This workshop aims to collaboratively construct and add keywords to this rhizomatic word relationship map. Participants have the freedom to contribute both academically and personally meaningful keywords, whether they make logical sense or not, organised or disorganised. However, it is discouraged to simply add words for the sake of it. Instead, the process should resemble a brainstorming session conducted in a state of flow. To facilitate this, the workshop will commence with a reflective question. The goal is to foster hypertextual thinking, akin to traversing from one keyword to another, or from one online site to another. Boom Ba-da boom, what makes sense on a small scale (single transition), should end up in a non-interpretable hyperobject structure on a larger scale (sum of transitions) - and don’t be afraid of making this hyperobject, because this is the very nature of the world. Σ(part) ≠ (whole).