Citation Hyperplasia
2026
Web-based interactive work
The work uses academic paper layouts, citation formats, DOIs, indexing labels, impact metrics, and reference lists as visual material, transforming academic text into a body that can be infected, obscured, and deformed. As the page runs and viewers interact with it, the initially ordered structure of the paper is gradually invaded by black particles, mutated characters, and pathological imagery. Citation no longer functions merely as a means of supporting an argument, but becomes a self-replicating institutional structure. The work asks: when mechanisms of credibility proliferate beyond control, are they still safeguarding knowledge, or are they obscuring experience, replacing judgement, and producing a surface of legitimacy?
Interaction
① Press and Hold in a Blank Area | Lesion Formation
Pressing and holding in a blank area of the paper generates a lesion at that location. The lesion gradually expands and remains visible for around ten seconds, transforming an otherwise neutral textual space into a new pathological site.
② Press and Hold on the Central Organism | Organismic Response
Pressing and holding on the central organism triggers a more intense reaction: the body and its tentacles convulse, the membrane contracts, and surrounding black particles gather and erupt, producing a response akin to that of a stimulated living organism.
③ Autonomous Operation | Continuous Proliferation
Even without audience interaction, the page continues to breathe, shift, and undergo gradual pathological change. Scrolling also forms part of the experience, as viewers move through increasingly dense pathological regions while reading.
System
① Document Structure Layer
The paper’s academic structure—including the title, abstract, main text, citations, DOI, indexing information, and references—is built in HTML to form the readable base interface.
② Generative Rendering Layer
Multiple Canvas layers generate black particles, residues, citation fragments, lesions, tentacles, and drifting traces that continuously overlay and erode the text.
③ Organism Layer
The central organism consists of transparent WebP layers forming the core, membrane, tentacles, shadows, and fragments, creating an organic structure that breathes, contracts, and deforms.
④ Interaction and State System
Press-and-hold gestures, scrolling, and time spent on the page trigger different responses, while the system continues to operate and evolve autonomously without audience interaction.
