BERLIN.- In the labyrinth of Berlin club culture, labels and limitations disappear. For over 30 years, Berlin has been a space of possibility in which quite a few people have invented a new life, a new identity. Berlin's nightlife, with its ever-evolving club culture, mirrors the city’s constant transformation.

In the extensive series Le bal infernal, which spans over 16 years, photographer Benita Suchodrev combines her aesthetic roots in portrait and social documentary photography and uses her unmistakable visual language to present people and moments that represent an essential part of Berlin's past, present and future.

Like a dreamlike dance, this hellish ball takes place in a universe all of its own. The high-contrast, impressive shots are reminiscent of film classics of excess such as Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita from 1960 and thus combine beauty in the dark, freedom, collectivity and solitude. A wind of scandal, wickedness and vice blows around the characters who, far from other realities in daylight, allow and embrace debauchery. As in Dante's Divine Comedy, as witnesses to the spectacle captured by Suchodrev's camera, we encounter elements of an inferno, always associated with sinfulness, as well as a state of heavenly paradise.

When Benita Suchodrev moved to Berlin in 2008, she was immediately drawn to the city’s vibrant nightlife and to the rich variety of social groups within that milieu. It was here that she began documenting the unique energy of the city’s nightlife through her lens.

"My life in Berlin is inseparable from this body of work. I discovered the city in the process of taking these photographs," says Suchodrev.

Her long-term study has evolved over time, capturing the essence of a city that never sleeps. On 10 October 2024, the exhibition Le bal infernal will open at Fotografiska Berlin, including works from Suchodrev’s archives, as well as new works being shown for the first time.

Suchodrev is interested in the moments in which authenticity becomes tangible, in which the pose fades and the mask crumbles or reveals itself as the momentary truth. She shoots intuitively, often capturing moments from the hip to avoid altering the natural flow of events by pointing her camera too deliberately.

"To really enjoy a party, I need my camera. I get a rush when I photograph people being authentic and having a good time," she explains.

For Suchodrev, each subject has a story, and her photos reflect the hidden narratives behind every fleeting expression or glance. Each shot offers the chance to imagine the untold stories behind the faces. Whether it’s the choice to hide behind a mask or strip away all pretense, break social barriers, or embrace hedonism, Benita Suchodrev’s long-term study Le bal infernal captures the fleeting moments and unique characters that define the soul of Berlin.

Benita Suchodrev was born in the former USSR and immigrated to the United States where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts with a focus on Art History, before continuing to a Master of Arts in English Literature and graduating with high honors.

Suchodrev relocated to Berlin in 2008 and began an extensive documentation of the cosmopolitan city’s multifaceted art scene while working on diverse photographic projects. She became known with the series 48 Hours Blackpool (Kehrer 2018), a sociocultural study rich in authenticity and poetry, set in the eponymous coastal town.

Her photographs have been published in the books Of Lions and Lambs (Kehrer 2019), 48 Hours Blackpool (Kehrer 2018), Nachtleben Berlin: 1974 bis heute (Metrolit 2013) and Berlin Now (teNeues 2009). Her awarded portrait and documentary works have been exhibited in solo and group shows nationally and internationally and are part of stately and private collections. Benita Suchodrev is a member of the photographer's agency FOCUS. She lives and works in Berlin.

"There’s a certain madness and magic to it all: the neurotic flicker of neon lights, the dissolution of the self in a trance to a sinister beat or acting out bliss with a stranger on a shabby couch in a smoke-filled room. Beneath the party facade, these moments speak to a deeper part of the human condition: the endless longing to feel physically and spiritually free." – Benita Suchodrev