Hamburg-based illustrator and printmaker Christoph Kleinstück turns his attention to the invisible infrastructures of the digital world in BOTNET, a five-colour reduction woodcut exploring global bot networks, the Internet of Things, cyberspace, and the persistent influence of robots and cyborgs in popular culture.
At the core of the work is an ongoing curiosity about how the internet shapes contemporary life. Kleinstück reflects on the sociocultural use of the platforms and apps that structure our daily routines, the corporations operating behind them, and the increasingly seamless integration of connected technologies into domestic and public spaces. From smart devices to automated systems, the boundaries between physical and digital realities continue to blur.
Science fiction plays a significant role in this reflection. As Kleinstück notes, “I also read a lot of science fiction and it’s interesting to compare the ideas of the future imagined fifty years or even longer ago, and what is our reality today.” In BOTNET, this comparison becomes visual. The imagery draws from speculative futures while confronting the very real infrastructures that already surround us. What once felt distant and cinematic now feels embedded, ordinary, and quietly pervasive.
Technically, the print is produced as a reduction woodcut, a method that requires carving away more of the same woodblock after each layer of colour is printed. This means the block is gradually destroyed during the process, making reprints impossible. The final edition is limited to twelve prints, each measuring 70 x 100 cm and printed on Römerturm “Jupp wiess” paper. Every copy is hand-numbered and signed.
Because of the reduction process, each print carries slight variations. Textures shift across colour fields, and subtle marks of the printing process, including small stains or irregularities, remain visible. These traces of labour stand in quiet contrast to the frictionless aesthetic often associated with digital technology. In BOTNET, the hand-carved surface becomes a counterpoint to the coded networks it depicts.
Kleinstück’s practice frequently merges contemporary themes with traditional printmaking techniques, grounding digital anxieties in tactile processes. Here, the slow, deliberate rhythm of carving and layering ink stands against the speed and scale of global data systems. The result is both critical and material, a reminder that even the most abstract technological structures can be translated back into physical form.
Christoph Kleinstück is a freelance illustrator and printmaker based in Hamburg, Germany. Alongside commissioned work for clients worldwide, he runs woodcut workshops in his studio and in schools, and offers his prints and editions through his online shop.
More information:
www.christophkleinstuek.de
https://www.instagram.com/christophkleinstueck
