Escape me? Never— Beloved! While I am I, and you are you, so long as the world contains us both, me the loving and you the loth, while the one eludes, must the other pursue. – Robert Browning
I often wonder what makes people sustain long lasting relationships. Two people get married, some get divorced after few years, some remain together for many years in an endured relationship, like my parents. Some live together in a more graceful bonding till their last breath. What makes people celebrate their nuptials for many anniversaries?
Ever since I was young, I always wondered and was inspired by seeing the bond between my grandparents. Both of them are in their eighties. My grandfather is very excited to celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary in 2022. I still remember how they struggled to build their own house after my grandfather’s retirement and move from civil servant housing. They lost their eldest son in a plane crash last year. Though I might not be their closet grandchild, I did have a chance to witness a lot of their ups and downs, and lights and darks through my camera.
I don’t have my own definition of love. Whenever I see them, I feel the things I see might be defined as love. I have never seen or felt that with my parents. My grandfather lost his sight twenty years ago and my grandmother has had impaired hearing in recent years. One can see that she is eyes to him, and vice versa, he is ears to her.
While spending time with my grandparents helps me give love a shape, I habour a silent fear, if one of them is gone, how will the remaining one remain?
PHOTOGRAPHS & TEXT: SHWE WUTT HMON, MYANMAR. WEBSITE: shwewutthmonphoto.
Shwe Wutt Hmon is a member of Thuma Collective. Life In A Love, by Shwe Wutt Hmon was made during the IPA Mentorship Program. Click to view: More Mentorship Projects.
The IPA Mentorship Program is a photography mentorship initiative by Invisible Photographer Asia (IPA) for those who wish to further their personal photographic vision and goals.
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