Why I Print on Bamboo
There is a profound quietude in the temples of Angkor—an ancient breath that lingers in stone, moss, and morning light. When choosing how to bring these moments into the world as physical prints, I seek materials that do more than serve the image; they must honour the spirit of the place.
This is why I print my work on Hahnemühle Bamboo—a paper born not of conventional pulp, but of the rapid-growing, self-renewing bamboo plant. It is the world’s first fine art inkjet paper made from 90% bamboo fibres, and it reflects my reverence for nature and impermanence, for beauty that leaves no wound behind.
Bamboo requires no pesticides, grows swiftly, and thrives with minimal water. It gives far more cellulose per acre than trees, yet demands far less from the land. To print upon it is to collaborate with a plant that teaches resilience and generosity—less an act of consumption, more a gesture of reciprocity.
Its natural white tone, free of optical brighteners, glows with warmth—soft, muted, like temple sandstone in morning haze. The gently textured surface cradles the photograph like a whisper cradles a prayer. Monochrome prints, in particular, find a new voice here: shadows breathe, mid-tones sing, and highlights drift like incense into silence.
For me, it is not enough that a print be archival—it must also feel alive. The subtle tactility of this paper gives soul to the image. It transforms a photograph into an offering.
Every print I make is the result of long, patient hours in the temples—measured not in time, but in stillness. By choosing bamboo, I extend that stillness into the material world, with a paper that respects the earth, carries the image with grace, and disappears softly into time.
— Lucas Varro
Also in My Journal
Shadow and Stone
“There are mornings when the silence is not absence, but presence. Today, in the shadowed corridor of Ta Prohm, the roots held the stone not as conquerors, but as keepers. I stood motionless, watching light brush across a weathered lintel, as if some ancient breath were still exhaling.”
The Giant of Phnom Bakheng
High above the jungle canopy, where stone meets sky, a giant stirs beneath Phnom Bakheng. Born of earth and legend, he rises not in fury—but in sorrow—his towering form a silent witness to the ambitions of kings and the turning of stars. Step into the myth where temples breathe and the ancient still remembers.
The Legend of Neang Neak and Preah Thong: The Birth of the Khmer Kingdom
A serpent princess and a wandering prince unite to shape the Khmer kingdom—where love births a dynasty, and the Nāga coils through stone and blood.
