Bhakti Mukta

Before the birds herald day, a dusky hush clings to Angkor Wat’s Western Gallery.  Within that hush, two figures ignite—a vanara’s jaws closing upon a rakshasa’s thigh, their limbs blazing across the centuries in unwavering purpose.  The wall itself seems to inhale, holding the precise moment when loyalty surpasses fear.

This stillness hums with unseen currents: sandalwood breeze, latent thunder, the breath of hundreds of stone warriors who bear silent witness.  Yet all sound recedes into the gravity of this single bite, chiselled conviction etched into sandstone and darkness alike.

Lucas Varro knelt for this encounter as one might kneel at a shrine: heart quiet, shutter poised, body stilled to receive what the wall would disclose.  Medium-format black-and-white film gathered the lingering night; long exposure let devotion root itself in silver.  Later, chiaroscuro shaping and hand-toning coaxed hidden embers to the surface, until violence revealed its secret tenderness.

Strictly limited to twenty-five prints with two Artist’s Proofs, each sheet rests on museum-grade Hahnemühle Bamboo paper whose warm fibers cradle the image like well-worn prayer beads.  Signed, numbered, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, every impression bears the trace of the artist’s steady hand.
Invite this fierce serenity into the room where your quietest questions wait.

To walk further into the silence behind the stone, click here to enter the Artist’s Journal.

Previously titled ‘Battle of Lanka I, Study I, Angkor Wat Temple, 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.