When Light and Shakti Become One
A final beam breaks through the canopy and slips into the brick sanctum of Prasat Kravan. There, Lakshmi waits—not as a relic, but as Shakti embodied: sovereign of abundance, keeper of beauty, partner in divine power. Her four arms cradle the opposites, and the brick around her, warmed by time, hums with remembrance.
This image is not staged. It is received. Forty seconds of open lens allowed the chamber to breathe its gold into film. No flash, no interference—just presence meeting presence.
Carved in the tenth century, Lakshmi’s form here belongs to one of the rarest surviving brick bas-reliefs in Khmer art. Alongside her consort Vishnu in the tower’s adjoining chamber, she radiates both stillness and abundance. Her disc and trident point toward unity, not duality. The shrine, though roofless, remains whole.
Captured on large-format black-and-white film, the image was later shaped through classical chiaroscuro and toned by hand on Hahnemühle Bamboo paper. Each impression draws warmth from within the fibres, a subtle echo of the shrine’s own breath. The edition is limited to twenty-five, with two Artist’s Proofs—each accompanied by a field-drawn chalk study and contemplative texts.
To live with this work is to receive not only an image, but an ember of what the goddess still offers: a presence that asks for nothing, yet blesses the room it enters.
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
Kravan 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)
A final breath of sun threads through the broken roof of Prasat Kravan and brushes Lakshmi into living gold. She emerges from the brick wall—not only as the goddess of wealth and beauty, but as the supreme Shakti, consort of Vishnu, and one third of the sacred Tridevi. Her arms open into blessing, her presence woven into the silence like a lamp still lit.
The chamber stills. The air holds centuries of incense, murmured prayers, and vanished flame. In that hush, I recognize not just sculpture but presence—offered, intact. I open the lens and let the moment settle into silver.
Captured on large-format black-and-white film, the image was later shaped through chiaroscuro and delicate hand-toning to restore the glow that dusk had granted. Printed on museum-grade Hahnemühle Bamboo paper, each print holds the warmth of that shrine, lovingly preserved. The edition is limited to twenty-five numbered impressions with two Artist’s Proofs.
Let this quiet ember of divine Shakti dwell as a radiant threshold in your space.
Click here to step into the Artist’s Journal and trace the path of her golden breath.
Previously titled ‘Lakshmi, Study 2, Kravan Temple, Angkor, Cambodia. 2020,’ this photograph has been renamed to better reflect its place in the series and its spiritual tone. The edition, provenance, and authenticity remain unchanged.
