Enzo Barracco Is Protecting the Ocean Through Art—From Antartica to Hawaii

The sea has always been an essential part of Enzo Barracco’s life. The photographer grew up on the Mediterranean. “The ocean was like my white canvas—all my dreams, all my hopes were there,” says the gregarious Sicilian over a video call from his home in New York. “I grew up with this incredible endless font of inspiration every day.”

He took pictures of the sea, and—after holding his first exhibition on the island of Pantelleria—embarked for Milan and then London to start a career as a fashion photographer. Happening upon a book about the explorer Ernest Shackleton, he was struck with inspiration, and decided to plan his own expedition to Antarctica—as you do. The experience, which was as hazardous as it was exhilarating, changed the trajectory of both his career and his mindset. “When I returned to London, it was very difficult to go back to shooting fashion,” he explains.

Now a dedicated nature photographer, Barracco spends his time traveling the world documenting its natural beauty, and collaborates closely with the Prada Group through its Sea Beyond ocean conservation initiative. This month, his work arrived at the Prada store in Aoyama, Tokyo, and tomorrow, December 11, he will be joined for an in-store conversation featuring Francesca Santoro, senior program officer at UNESCO IOC (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission). The Tokyo event is the second installment of Sea Beyond, following a New York launch earlier in the year, with the goal to spread the message of ocean conservation around the world.

Photographs from Barracco’s latest book, The Blue on Fire, Hawai’i, are exhibited on the fifth floor of the Aoyama store. Depicting the natural beauty of the archipelago, the collection of photos builds on an oeuvre that has taken Barracco around the world, where he has documented melting icebergs, rare wildlife, and the dynamism of the ocean in astonishing photos that reveal both the innate power and intense vulnerability of the natural world.

For Barracco and Santoro, joining forces with Prada Group has been vital for spreading the word about ocean conservation and climate change. The photographer became a Sea Beyond ambassador in 2020, and has built an ongoing relationship with the brand, which publishes sustainability reports in an effort to be more transparent about its processes.