A Flame Held Upright
Light gathers at the ridge of his ribs before it fades. It lingers for a moment at the lifted arm, then falls—hesitant, like memory nearing pain. There is silence in this corner of the wall. The warriors beside him surge forward, but he waits, dancing alone.
His form reminds me of a flame held just before the wind takes it. Not heroic. Not sorrowful. Just utterly present.
In the studio, I shaped his outline as one would trace the last warmth of a hand once held. Light became breath, then shadow, then breath again. What remained was not a warrior—but the stillness before becoming.
He raised his hand—
not to strike, but to remember
that the body too is prayer.One heel lifts
off the stone
where thousands fall.He dances
not as hero,
but as the one who burns
a little brighter
just before he vanishes.
Also in Library
From Mountain to Monastery
Angkor Wat survived by learning to change its posture. Built as a summit for gods and kings, it became a place of dwelling for monks and pilgrims. As belief shifted from ascent to practice, stone yielded to routine—and the mountain learned how to remain inhabited.
Why Theravada Could Outlast Stone
Theravada endured by refusing monumentality. It shifted belief from stone to practice, from kings to villages, from permanence to repetition. What it preserved was not form but rhythm—robes, bowls, chants, and lives lived close together—allowing faith to travel when capitals fell and temples emptied.
The End of Sanskrit at Angkor
The final Sanskrit inscription at Angkor does not announce an ending. It simply speaks once more, with elegance and certainty, into a world that had begun to listen differently. Its silence afterward marks not collapse, but a quiet transfer of meaning—from stone and proclamation to practice, breath, and impermanence.
$250
Angkor Wat Temple, Angkor, Cambodia — 2020
Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print
Edition
Strictly limited to 25 prints + 2 Artist’s Proofs
Medium
Hand-toned black-and-white archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Bamboo — a museum-grade fine art paper chosen for its quiet tactility and reverent depth, echoing the spirit of the temples.
Signature & Numbering
Each print is individually signed and numbered by the artist on the border (recto)
Certificate of Authenticity
Accompanies every print
Image Size
8 x 8 inches (20.3 x 20.3 cm)
In the hush of Angkor Wat’s storm-washed corridors, a lone dancer stirs the stone. He is carved into the great Mahabharata relief—a Kaurava soldier, mid-stride, one hand lifted not in violence, but in invocation. Though his fate is sealed, the gesture endures.
The wall around him surges with warriors, yet this figure holds the eye. His pose is graceful, vital, filled with a beauty that mourns its own vanishing. He dances not for triumph, but for remembrance—for the spark that flickers just before it is lost.
Lucas Varro encountered this moment in silence, and rendered it with equal care. Captured on large format black-and-white film with a long exposure, the negative was later shaped using classical chiaroscuro techniques. Each print is hand-toned by the artist to coax forth the radiance buried in the stone.
This is a museum-quality archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Bamboo paper. The edition is strictly limited to 25, with 2 Artist’s Proofs. Signed and numbered on border recto, each piece is crafted as a contemplative threshold.
He lifted his hand,
and the centuries stood still.
Click here to enter the Artist’s Journal and follow the echo of his breath.
