Endless Ritual is a dual exhibition of Chen I-Chun and Luo He-Lin. Both artists specialize in new media art, and aim to explore modern social and cultural phenomena. The exhibition is conceived through the artists' shared observation and individual responses to modern society of advanced technology. They attempt to reveal the fact that in addition to habits formed through "path dependence" in the gradually standardized modern day life, people have been involuntarily tamed by all kinds of "machines." If we take a detailed look into the so-called "convenience" in daily life, we would find that everything is operated on a certain institution or system whereas people are forced to become part of the system machine. This phenomenon exposes how technology has dominated the trend of life as people are willing to follow different rules and conditions and slowly allow their free mind to be confined implicitly. Therefore, a path similar to an inverted tree diagram and rules of action have taken a specific effect of "rituals."
In traditional custom, "ritual" symbolizes the reverence for heaven and earth. In addition to religious festivals, rituals can also be seen in occasions of "promulgation." Meanwhile, the system also often operates by employing existing rituals, guiding people to a seemingly convenient path through implicit manipulation or psychological suggestion—whether it is capital or technology, it conditioned people to proceed in an order while bringing them materialistic satisfaction and convenience. From CCTV, to the comprehensive surveillance of event data recorders, to the log-in control with account passwords, to the ritualistic procedure of mutually confirming friendship on social media, "technological procedures" are combined with "religious rituals," completely regulating modern people's concept of life and behavioral patterns.
In light of this, the exhibition hopes to provide a standard path for viewers to "escape" this dendrogram and find an alternative de-territorializing technique. It resembles the concept of "rhizome" proposed by Deleuze and Guattari, breaking free from the linear principle of a single-layered structure and forming more diverse linkage, difference, and operation. Such technique is like an "endless ritual" that entails no beginning or end. Because it has no end, it goes on forever, and sets us free from the control of all kinds of systems.