The Silence That Ascends

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.