Take something as vast as the ocean and look at it closely, really closely - recognize the beautifully ephemeral and unique nature of every single wave, every drop of water in unceasing motion. In our own uniqueness, do we really understand how connected we are to the rest of the universe? Are we ever present enough to truly take this in? Does the ocean know the sea exists?  

Through this series, which mirrors my connection with the Atlantic ocean and Nuria’s bond with the Mediterranean sea, we seek to build a bridge that generates a conversation about community and connecting with nature - there’s something magical under every stone, grain of sand, in the clouds and in the wind. It’s our devotion to nature, present throughout all our work, that brought us together to collaborate after years of friendship. The project starts in Fuerteventura, where I spent a big part of my childhood, with a series of photographs of oceanscapes aimed to portray the unique character of its waves – it’s almost like they hold the universe within them, every single one is unique in its own way: drops forming constellations.

Most of my work is about connection. It’s about drawing lines in the sand that will bring me closer me to the people I love and admire. With Nuria, who I’ve been friends with for years, this line was clear - how do our worlds connect? The Atlantic and the Mediterranean are so similar yet so different. It’s beautiful how it’s not an obvious connection - there’s a certain tension, two extremely different characters. Where do they meet? This eventually brought up the question - Does the ocean know the sea exists?

We then understood that what we were doing - organically exploring this very personal connection between her world and mine – could actually be seen as something larger and more universal. It’s about our unwavering love for nature in all its forms, about bringing people together, about finding spaces where we can be in community with nature. The resilience of nature should make us reflect, especially in this time of urgency and immediacy. We hope that portraying the unspeakable beauty and mystery of our planet highlights the importance of respecting the world we live in.

These photographs of the Atlantic will eventually be taken to the Mediterranean and projected over the sea in an offline installation, finally connecting my world and Nuria’s. In this moment of communion between the ocean and the sea, both bodies of water will finally meet in the projection’s reflection on the sea’s surface. There, we’ll find our answer: Does the ocean know the sea exists?

Written and directed by Pablo Curto
Production by Sample 

Executive Producers: Mayca Márquez & Edu Lozano
Producer: Gema Ruiz

Director of photography: Nauzet Gaspar
Focus Puller: Hector Quintero
Light assistant: Alejandro Rofera

Stylist: Paula Delgado
Make up & Hair: Yadro Ochoa

Casting director: La Santa
Model: Uma Vethakkan

Postproduction coordinator: Marisa Mesonero
Postproduction: Daniel Sanchez Herrera
Color grading: Nadia Khairat
Sound Design: Luis Ortega
Title credits: Javier Unknos

Fixer: María Sanz Estev
Production assistants: Idoya Perello & Mateo Beruqe

Special thanks: Helena Fradera, Conrado López, Tessa Doniga, Jeremy Taffin
Developed closely with Sample, this project wouldn’t have been possible without the passion and dedication of all the crew involved - thank you everyone for helping bring this idea to life.