To all the Noah Centineo fans who were just minding their own business, prepare to not be OK. Acclaimed artist and Internet darling Sarah Bahbah tapped the young actor, whom she calls "incredibly grounded and wise," as the muse for her latest photo series, titled “Dear Love.” The series came to be as a result of Instagram DM, but according to Sarah, "It's much more serendipitous than that." The two minds met for coffee on Friday, September 14 — and shot the series two days later. The duo released the first few images of the series on September 19 and will be releasing the rest of the series over the course of the next few days.
Sarah’s sixth sense for Instagram virality is no secret, and her latest collaboration makes me wonder if she’s trying to break the Internet for good. (Just 10 minutes after Noah posted about the series on his account, Sarah had already gained 20,000 new followers.) But it should be noted that this isn’t the first time Sarah channeled a young icon (and the Internet’s collective thirst) to pull on our heartstrings with truths about love you didn’t know you needed. She previously worked with Dylan Sprouse on a photo series that continues to pop up all over Tumblr and Instagram.
In an exclusive interview, Sarah talked to Teen Vogue about the DMs that came before she and Noah sent each other, what they talked about over coffee, and more. And after you read the interview, check out Teen Vogue's exclusive look at the next round of images she hasn’t posted online just yet.
Teen Vogue: So, to start: Did Noah slide into your DMs first or did you DM him?
SB: I guess there was a DM from him first, but I wouldn’t say that was our first engagement. I woke up one morning in New York and had remembered seeing Noah in my dream. It sounds intangible, but you can imagine how strong the dream and the feeling was because it manifested itself into this reality. I remembered that I had seen him on Netflix before, so I did some research and found him on Instagram. He was already following me and had already sent a message, but I initiated the shoot.
TV: You said there was a coffee meeting that led to the shoot. What did you talk about at coffee and why did you decide he was the right guy for the job?
SB: My intuition led me to working with Noah. He is incredibly grounded and wise. I was drawn to this, so I followed my instinct, and this trust revealed to me a beautiful soul to collaborate with. Over coffee, Noah and I related on so many levels. We had this intense comfortability; we effortlessly moved through conversations of life, dreaming, and the importance of deep human connection. We were on the same page, it felt right, and the art simply flowed.
TV: The series is called "Dear Love," but Noah’s character seems to be over being in a relationship. Is this a celebration of being single?
SB: This is a series that celebrates the complications of all aspects of human connection — connections [that are] shared and connections within yourself. In this series we watch the protagonist search past surface-level connections. We watch as he turns introspectively and begins to understand himself and his needs. "Dear Love" holds our hands as we come to understand the worth and weight of the reality of solitude, dreaming, and manifestation. It’s better to be alone and love yourself than be with someone and feel lonely.
