Silent Arc

The Work

This is the only square photograph in the collection.

Every other image at Light & Shadows is rectangular — panoramic, standard, letterbox. Silent Arc is 1:1. The composition was made in the square format because the arc of the dune crest demanded it: the curve rises from the lower left, sweeps through the centre, and exits at the upper right, describing a continuous gesture that a rectangular frame would either crop or contextualise. The square holds exactly the arc and nothing else.

The composition is restrained to the point of silence: a single luminous curve, a vast field of darkness, and the subtle texture of wind-sculpted sand visible only along the lit edge. There is no horizon, no sky, no scale reference. The square format intensifies this reduction — it eliminates the directional reading (left-to-right, bottom-to-top) that a rectangle creates and replaces it with a centripetal pull toward the arc itself. The eye circles.

The Location

Eureka Dunes rise nearly 700 feet above the floor of the Eureka Valley in the remote northern reaches of Death Valley National Park — the tallest dune system in California, and one of the most isolated. The valley sits at the edge of the Inyo Mountains, on the far side of two unpaved roads and a long silence.

The Edition

Silent Arc is released as a strictly limited edition of 15 prints worldwide, offered in [three] sizes. Once the 15th print is sold, the image is permanently retired.

Every print is:
• Hand-signed and numbered on the recto by the artist
• Accompanied by a serialized Certificate of Authenticity with dual-hologram provenance
• Personally inspected before leaving the studio
• Registered in the Light & Shadows edition archive

Current edition status: Edition 14 of 15 available. 1 sold.

The Capture

The Print

Available on two substrates:

Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm — 100% cotton, acid-free, museum-grade. Archival carbon pigments rated for 100+ years. Ships in archival sleeve. Framing in hand-finished hardwood (blackened ash, matte black, or natural oak) with museum glass available on request.

Matte/satin aluminium (metal print) — archival-grade dye sublimation on aluminium composite. Ships with hidden French cleat mount for frameless floating installation. The square format is particularly effective as a frameless metal piece — the edges become part of the composition.