SIDE by SIDE
A photo essay on the love we built
A dream came true in July of 2025. I got the chance to put up my photographs in my very first exhibition.
Before the turn of the year, setting up a photo exhibition was one of the goals i had penned down. Striking it off the list, however, was not as straightforward as i had expected. It took months of effort, planning and co-ordination but at the end of it all, it materialised into work that i felt very proud of. The collection, now digitalised, serves as a memento of a special moment for both myself and the only other person i intended this for - my partner, A.
Please Enjoy.
Side by Side
“Love is not something you (just) feel, it is something you do”
― Natasha Lunn, Conversations on Love
The collection of photographs here were curated with the lens of love, through which ordinary everyday moments are made precious and dear. Captured on both digital and analog mediums, this exhibition traces a tender relationship between the photographer, Mani, and his partner, A.
Mani’s pursuit to capture such instances in their relationship has filled hard drives and an irritatingly pricey cloud storage. Admittedly, a small price to pay for preserving what memory alone might one day blur. Seen together, the frames map a story of their highs and lows, of a love that is both forgiving and accepting. In their relationship, love was felt the most not in fireworks and grand gestures, but rather in silence that felt like hugs, in being fully heard and tightly held, and in showing up quietly but reliably.
Told from Mani’s perspective, this exhibition is a tribute to those moments of spontaneity, quiet, and the in-betweens. This is the story of his love for A, worth falling into, not once, but choosing to do so over and over again.
Thank you for being here.
Elephant in the Room
The $30 entry ticket to the climbing gym on our first date was pointless. 15 minutes spent climbing but 3 hours spent talking over a bottle of red.
Spilt wine, dizzying cuteness and a long walk home later that night, we still have a half a bottle of ‘Elephant in the Room’ left to never forget that first date.
I had the biggest smile on my face that night i walked back.
Teacup
Love languages was a topic of conversation we have revisited several times. Now, we have found a natural sync in the ways we give and receive love, but this took time. We had to understand what we each needed to feel loved. We spoke whenever there was a mismatch and re-calibrated to the needs of the other.
One thing we found easy alignment in from the get-go was gift giving. It was something we both enjoyed and it’s a practice that still holds true today. Gift exchange holds a space of its own during special occasions and reunions for us. This photograph here is from the time we picked out our fist gifts from a pottery studio, got it wrapped up and then went back home to present it to each other.
Though cracked now, that first teacup still sits on my shelf as a simple symbol of what gift giving has meant to us – “I think of you even when you aren’t with me”.
Peace
I love the sound of everything she says and the music of the silence between us.
Army Ground Sheet
Books, a board game and an iced drink, these things are staples of our picnic dates. We did this on our second date, fourth date (with some great beef ragu) and whenever we felt nature deprived. The desire to sit outside with each other has taken us to beaches and some special green spaces.
Once we even went to Pulau Ubin for an ambitious camping trip to ‘take a weekend off and unwind’. We spent that weekend fighting sandflies and the urge to scratch our skin off. That’s a spot our Army Ground Sheet will never touch again. No, thank you.
Seen
A, she is made different. I have never seen someone with so many wins under their belt embrace failures so readily. “Fail at one thing every day” read a post-it note on her table the first time I went into her room.
Her humility and desire to learn has been something I have admired. Ever so often she may stumble, but she learns quickly from it. Gets up every time, surefooted and ready to go again. I have been the lucky audience of her quiet and humble brilliance, and I cannot wait to watch her to glow brighter. I see how hard she tries to be better every day, and I am so incredibly proud of her for it.
Woman
Some was used for sunrise, some for sunsets and the rest of the beauty was spent making this gorgeous woman.
These are my favourite portraits of A.
Valley and Summits
Not all days are rosy and that’s simply because we are two different people taking on life together. The red shoes here are significant, not only for being A’s treasured buy, but for being an important learning point for both of us. That moment of friction taught us a lesson on communicating expectations, recognising each other’s priorities and moving away from a ‘you vs me’ into a ‘us vs the problem’ mentality. One of many lessons to come, I am sure.
This however, does not scare me. Here’s why.
The truth is you cannot choose a person just because they are in the mountain tops of life with you. Life brings change and people do too. A whole bunch of unexpected challenges, blinding wins and crushing failures may come. At such difficult times, you need someone who’s willing to hike the climb back up from the valleys with you. Without which, you probably won’t even enjoy the view from the top together. So you choose someone who can weather change alongside you and is willing to stick through the journey to relish the destination together.
On my darkest days, my partner stood tall as the lighthouse and gave me hope. While I kept a steady front for my family and friends, it is with her that I feel comfortable enough to be weak. Many a times, in her embrace, I found strength that i could then relay on to others. She kept the boat moving when i had no more wind in my sails. Without her, I would have crumbled.
Our time together through the uphills and downhills has shown me that there is no one else I would rather ride the roller coaster of life with than her.
For that, I do not fear what life may throw at us.
She’s Just a Goofy Girl
What’s life without the spice of surprises? In the most pleasant way, life with A has been nothing short of extraordinary. One moment I am in awe of her brilliance and in the next moment I find myself with a lost capybara that has a 100% chance of walking into a glass door. Sometimes she is a fashionista worthy of a Vogue cover dedication, and just as quickly, she turns into my childhood nightmare with undying zoomies. In my life choices, I tried very hard to stay away from monotony and it seems this is where that led to. This special, one-of-kind, source-of-laughter is not ‘defective’ as she mistakenly self-proclaims. She’s just a goofy girl and I only love her more for it.
Medicine
The way she says my name and the way her laughter fills my heart. These two alone can cure me any day. Her laughter is my best medicine.
Homesick
Without a doubt, I have become more of homebody because of Ashley. Competitive PS5 sessions, whiskey + painting and many half-watched TV shows.
At home, she’s got her guard down. She is funnier, cuter and her inner self comes through. I adore what comfort and familiarity bring out in her; it puts me at ease and makes me feel at home too. She has become my happiest hello and my hardest goodbye.
Drenched in Rain
“Do you love me?”, I was asked maybe once a day.
I knew I loved her when saying her name felt more like a feeling than just syllables put together. All of this felt like standing in the rain. First, I knew there was a drizzle and before i knew it, I was soaked to the bone.
This love i found has been calm and silent. It slows me down and allows me to heal and recover. Not what I expected or knew of love, but the kind I needed.
To be understood without having to explain everything is a precious thing and to have someone bear witness to your life is a gift that speaks to a deep human need within. Nothing small in my life goes unnoticed because she tries her best to care for it like her own.
I like her because she gives me a thousand reasons to, and I love her in spite of any quirks, because it makes her who she is.
Roppongi Hills
In my letter to her in Dec 22, I told her that I believed in soulmates. Not the “we were destined to meet” kind, but rather the “I choose you today and every day to come” kind. On that same day, at Roppongi, Tokyo, I asked her to be my girlfriend, and she said yes.
Love may be a feeling, but to us, Love was also very much an action that we chose to do. That makes love both easy and hard, natural and unnatural at times. I have just been tremendously lucky to have chosen her.
Here's to loving loudly, in front of everyone and then quiet again just between us - in hard conversations, forehead kisses and long hugs that feel like home.
she said yes