Silent Confrontation

A hush presses down over Preah Khan before sunrise—thick with breath, shadow, and the scent of old rain.  Roots fall like robes, and the white-mottled guardian lion waits in silence.

Here, tree and statue face one another without motion.  A sacred tension lingers—not of conflict, but of equilibrium—where each presence dignifies the other.  Light arrives slowly, as if asking permission to touch what time has already sanctified.

Lucas Varro stood within that silence, sensing an unspoken ritual unfolding.  The image was captured on large-format black-and-white film with a long exposure.  Later, in the darkroom, chiaroscuro was shaped by hand, and the final print was toned to echo the breath of stone and bark.

Each archival pigment print is hand-toned by the artist on museum-grade Hahnemühle Bamboo paper and issued in a strictly limited edition of 25 + 2 Artist’s Proofs.
Let this guardian of stillness take root within your contemplative space.

To trace the hush between breath and stone, click here to explore the Artist’s Journal.

Previously titled ‘Guardian, 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.