14,24 (2008-2016)

Sheltering behind the ominous beauty of these Mediterranean landscapes, silently bathing in moonlight is a long history. For most of us, the beaches of southern Europe evoke associations of holidays, relaxation and leisure. As a cultural cradle and one of the most densely populated areas on the planet, the region around the Mediterranean Sea has been linked to tourism, but also to trade and migration flows since time immemorial. As we can see on the news, the depicted beaches still function as arrival places for people who have left everything behind, in search of a new future, travelling with only the light of the moon and the stars as a compass. By photographing these Mediterranean beaches at night, Juan Fabuel strips the holiday destinations of their previous meaning. They become anonymous places, awaiting interpretation. The series is named after the number of kilometres that separate Europe from Africa.