Since she was 16, Lebanese photographer Myriam Boulos has relied on her camera to get closer to reality. She photographed the everyday lives of her friends in Beirut as the 2019 revolution erupted outside the windows. She captured the quiet moments indoors, amid ruins and demonstrations. In search of intimacy and personal space, she now works as a photographer for the renowned Magnum Agency. At C/O Berlin, Boulos’ diary-like images are displayed as part of the Close Enough exhibition, alongside works by eleven other Magnum photographers. In a long-term project, Alessandra Sanguinetti documented two girls in rural Argentina over several decades. Carolyn Drake, in her series “Men Untitled”, puts male models seeking new expressions of masculinity in the spotlight. The exhibition was first shown in New York in 2022 to mark Magnum’s 75th anniversary. C/O Berlin is now celebrating its 25th birthday by bringing the concept to Berlin, slightly reimagined.
Building on the statement by war photographer Robert Capa, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough,” the twelve photographers examine the extent to which intimacy is appropriate in a documentary gaze. How much familiarity and how much distance is needed between image-maker and subject? You can ask Carolyn Drake in person on 18.11.2025, when she visits C/O Berlin with her colleague Bieke Depoorters, offering insights into their working methods and the photobooks that emerged from their projects. The interplay of closeness and documentary distance also runs through the film series curated by Mubi for the exhibition. On 22.11., Mubi Night at C/O Berlin takes place. The evening highlight will be a screening of Lizzie Borden’s iconic film Working Girls (1986), part of the film series Close Enough: Perspectives by Women Filmmakers. The film follows sex workers through their daily lives, treating them with respect and humanity — far from voyeurism or naïveté. Additionally, the exhibition will remain open until midnight with free admission. Early visitors will receive a special giveaway and complimentary drink, while DJ Natalie Robinson provides the musical backdrop. Both Borden’s approach and the stance of her protagonists encapsulate the essence of “Close Enough” perfectly. Emotional boundaries remain invisible even where, at first glance, there seems to be no room for distance.
Text: Laura Storfner / Credits: The Necklace, 1999 © Alessandra Sanguinetti/Magnum Photos; A plane flying low over students at an amusemenet park, Istanbul, Turkey, 2018 © Sabiha Çimen/Magnum Photos; David von Becker
C/O Berlin, Hardenbergstr. 22–24, 10623 Berlin–Charlottenburg; map
Close Enough – Perspectives by Women Photographers of Magnum until 28.01.2026
Talking Books Expanded with Bieke Depoorter & Carolyn Drake 18.11.2025 18–20h. Further dates on 03.12.2025 with Lúa Ribeira and 22.01.2026 with Myriam Boulos + Olivia Arthur.
Mubi Night at C/O Berlin 22.11.2025 18–00h. Free entry.
Film Screening of Working Girls: 18–19h30 (registration closed, remaining seats available on site)
DJ-Set at 20h with Natalie Robinson.
@coberlin
