Lucky Forward Screenprint | Alex Hanke (Germany)

A maneki-neko sits front and center, one paw raised, printed in a single red that shifts from deep crimson in the paws and collar to a soft pink halftone across the ears and body. Look into the cat's belly and the illusion breaks open: a small figure in a ponytail sits at a control desk, working dials and levers by lamplight, hands on the mechanism that lifts the paw. Created by Alex Hanke of Studio Zum Heimathafen in Hamburg, the piece turns the traditional Japanese good-luck charm into something closer to a self-portrait — the idea that luck is not handed to you but operated from the inside.

This 1-color screenprint is pulled by hand and stamped in Hanke's Hamburg studio on Metapaper 300gsm stock, FSC certified with a matte finish. The single ink and fine halftone work give the cat its depth without a second pass, and the heavyweight paper holds the flat red cleanly against the natural cream sheet. An open edition, signed and numbered by the artist.

• Type: 1-Color Screenprint
• Artist: Alex Hanke / Studio Zum Heimathafen (Hamburg, Germany)
• Materials/Finish: Metapaper 300gsm, matte, FSC certified
• Print size: approx. 11.8 × 15.7 in / 30 × 40 cm
• Edition: Open edition, signed and numbered
• Made in: Germany
• Shipping: Ships rolled in a tube.

Somebody is always working the paw.

Color may vary slightly depending on screen settings.