Grace in the Stone

Dawn drifts across Preah Khan like a whispered psalm, finding an apsara carved mid-breath, her worn features turned toward a light that has travelled centuries to meet her.

Stone damp with night rain exhales; moss darkens the thresholds; silence grows until it feels almost visible—an unseen veil between the present and something immeasurably older.

I approached barefoot, each muted footfall dissolving into the hush.  In that suspended moment her gesture seemed to move without moving, inviting the heart to remember a rhythm older than speech.

Captured on large-format black-and-white film, the exposure lingered, allowing low light to carve shadow like water over stone.  In the studio, meticulous hand-toning and classical chiaroscuro extended the devotion, revealing subtleties of grain and breath otherwise lost.

Printed as a museum-grade archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Bamboo paper, this work is limited to twenty-five impressions, with two Artist’s Proofs—each signed, numbered, and accompanied by a certificate.
Welcome her stillness as a quiet threshold within your own space.

To step further into her silence—and the story of how she came to light—click here to enter the Artist’s Journal.

Previously titled ‘Apsara I, Preah Khan 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.