Presence That Does Not Depart
“In silence, the divine becomes visible.”
There are moments when the sacred reveals itself not as light, but as silence. The Silence That Ascends is such a moment—received by the artist in stillness, shaped later in reverence.
A solitary bird lifts through the courtyard of Angkor Wat, its wings arcing over rain-darkened steps that rise toward the sanctuary’s five towers. The stones glisten with stormlight. The towers do not announce themselves—they wait. The bird passes silently between.
Photographed by Lucas Varro on medium format black-and-white film, this image was later refined by hand using classical chiaroscuro methods. The shadows were coaxed gently into presence; the light, allowed to breathe. Each print is hand-toned by the artist in the quiet of his studio, a devotional act mirroring the moment’s original hush.
Printed on museum-grade Hahnemühle Bamboo paper, this edition is strictly limited to 25, with 2 Artist’s Proofs. Each is signed and numbered by the artist on border recto.
But this is not merely a print.
It is a stillness made visible—a place where presence does not pass, but waits. With each breath, the viewer may hear what the stone has not forgotten. The bird is gone. The silence remains.
Collectors of this work receive not only the photograph, but a full companion folio: a Certificate of Authenticity, a printed facsimile of the original Chalk Study, and reflective journal texts from the field—each shaped to honour what cannot be spoken, only shared.
The Silence That Ascends belongs not on a wall, but within a threshold—an opening into what listens beneath the visible.
Also in Library
Those Who Keep the Way Open — On the Quiet Guardians of Angkor’s Thresholds
Quiet gestures shape the way into Angkor — a swept stone, a refilled bowl, a hand steadying a guardian lion. This essay reflects on the unseen custodians whose daily care keeps the thresholds open, revealing how sacredness endures not through stone alone, but through those who tend its meaning.
Multiplicity and Mercy — The Face Towers of Jayavarman VII
A new vision of kingship rises at the Bayon: serene faces turned to every horizon, shaping a world where authority is expressed as care. Moving through the terraces, one enters a field of steady, compassionate presence — a landscape where stone, light, and time teach through quiet attention.
Stone That Dreams
Bayon wakes like a mind emerging from shadow. Its many faces shift with light and breath, teaching that perception—and the self—is never singular. In walking this forest of towers, the pilgrim discovers a quiet multiplicity within, held together by a calm that feels both ancient and newly understood.
$250
Angkor Wat Temple, Angkor, Cambodia — 2024
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)
There is a silence that rises—not outward, but inward. Before the first light breaks across the sky, before the temple even stirs in silhouette, something ascends. It does not speak. It does not wait. It simply is.
The Silence That Ascends was captured in the second courtyard of Angkor Wat just after heavy monsoon rains had passed. The stone steps, slick with water, lead upward toward the temple’s five towers. A solitary bird lifts through the air, its wings tracing a quiet geometry above the sacred.
Lucas Varro stood alone in that moment, present with breath and lens. Shot on medium format black-and-white film, this image was not composed—it was received. In his studio, he sculpted its depth using classical chiaroscuro techniques, shaping the light with the same care a monk might offer incense. Each print is then hand-toned to mirror the reverent hush of the original moment.
This strictly limited edition of 25 + 2 Artist’s Proofs is printed on museum-grade Hahnemühle Bamboo paper, hand-signed and numbered by the artist. It is an invitation—one that arrives not with clarity, but with mystery.
A stillness is rising where your breath once paused.
To walk deeper into the silence, click here to enter the Artist’s Journal.
