The Lure Of The Image at C/O Berlin

How do digital images shape the way we think, feel, and interact? The Lure of the Image brings together 14 artists exploring the visual culture of social media, algorithms, memes, dating apps, and AI.

Overview

Curated by Marco De Mutiis, Doris Gassert, and Alessandra Nappo (Fotomuseum Winterthur) and adapted for C/O Berlin by Boaz Levin, the exhibition examines how digital images capture our attention and shape contemporary social, cultural, and political life. Bringing together works by fourteen international artists, The Lure Of The Image explores the visual language of social media, dating apps, memes, emojis, ASMR videos, AI-generated imagery, and online archives.

Through photography, video, installation, collage, and research-based practices, the show investigates how images circulate online, how algorithms influence what we see, and how digital platforms shape perception, emotion, and public opinion. The featured works address topics including online activism, violence against women, beauty standards, self-representation, colonial stereotypes, internet intimacy, censorship, and digital propaganda.

Rather than presenting digital images as neutral representations, The Lure Of The Image reveals them as powerful cultural and political tools that can inform, persuade, manipulate, or resist. The exhibition features works by Zoé Aubry, Sara Bezovšek, Viktoria Binschtok, Sara Cwynar, Éamonn Freel x Lynski, Dina Kelberman, Michael Mandiberg, Joiri Minaya, Simone C Niquille, Jon Rafman, Jenny Rova, Hito Steyerl, Noura Tafeche, and Ellie Wyatt.