Apparatus of inadequacy: Zines, technology, and the language of control

Technology has long shaped illustration, from the industrial printing press to digital tablets, offering new possibilities for image-making. Yet, as machines extend creative capabilities, they also impose limitations—
systems designed for efficiency can often lead to frustration, alienation, and a loss of agency. Digital interfaces require constant updates, from forgotten passwords to cryptic dialogue boxes, subtly reinforcing feelings of personal failure. Similarly, in professional environments, language embedded in workplace emails – such as the “gentle reminder” or “resilience training” – act as a coded mechanism of control. The fear of being controlled by
technology is not new. In the early nineteenth century, James Tilly Mathews believed his mind was manipulated by the Air Loom, a secret machine emitting mesmeric rays. While Mathews’ delusion was unique, it reflects a
persistent anxiety, one that resonates in today’s digital age where unseen algorithms, automated processes, and bureaucratic systems quietly govern our actions. This presentation explores how zines provide a critical, satirical
response to the authority of technological systems. Drawing from the Zineopolis collection and my own serial zine Future Fantasteek! I examine how DIY publishing illustrates the psychological impact of digital bureaucracy. Through hand-made collage, illustration, and cut-up text, zines can disrupt digital precision, offering an alternative that embraces imperfection, humor, and resistance. By contrasting digital alienation with the materiality of zines, this paper argues that independent illustration practices reclaim narrative authority from impersonal systems. As technology continues to shape creative industries, illustrators must question: who controls whom, the artist or the apparatus?