Johannes Büttner, born in 1985, studied at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) and at De Ateliers in Amsterdam. His artistic work primarily takes the form of large-scale video installations that explore speculative as well as science-based socio-economic phenomena. Since 2015, his work has been shown in numerous group and solo exhibitions, including the 16th Istanbul Biennale (2019), the Palais de Tokyo in Paris (2018), Kunsthalle Mainz (2020), and Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt (2024). 

In 2022, Büttner made his first short fiction film, "Platform," about the precarious working conditions of employees in international parcel and delivery services. The project was based on documentary interviews Büttner conducted with real delivery workers, who also appear in the film. He adapted these interviews into an expanded-cinema video installation, which was presented alongside the film at the Literaturhaus Berlin and the Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival. "Platform" premiered in 2022 at the Max Ophüls Prize Film Festival and was nominated the same year for the German Short Film Award. 

Together with Annegret von Feiertag, Büttner created the 13-minute film "Retroverse" (2024), about a fictional tech company in a picturesque Hessian village that offers "retrosimulations." 

Over several years, Büttner collaborated with documentary filmmaker Julian Vogel on the feature-length documentary "Soldaten des Lichts" ("Soldiers of Light"), about miracle healers, pandemic deniers, and esoteric influencers linked to Germany's far-right milieu — particularly the "Reichsbürger" (Reich Citizens) movement, whose adherents reject the legitimacy of the modern German state and promote conspiracy theories. The project was made possible in part through Büttner's personal connection to an old school friend who is active in the scene, giving the filmmakers unique access. "Soldaten des Lichts" premiered in April 2025 at the Visions du Réel festival in Nyon, Switzerland, and was released in German cinemas in August 2025.