As the new year begins, Knots of Time: Marriage Then and Now invites you to slow down and reflect on one of life’s most enduring commitments - marriage. Presented in conjunction with Singapore Art Week, this intimate photography exhibition brings together the stories of 41 Singaporean couples, captured through the lens of veteran photographer Leong Ka Tai and curated by Gwen Lee.
Spanning two years of documentation, the exhibition presents portraits of both public figures and everyday Singaporeans, revealing the unseen threads that bind two lives together over time. Hawkers, nurses, athletes, politicians, and long-married couples from all walks of life stand side by side, reminding you that love, in its many forms, is a shared human experience.
At the heart of Knots of Time is a simple yet powerful gesture. Each couple is photographed holding their original wedding photograph or a cherished wedding memento, anchoring their present-day selves to a moment of promise made years or sometimes decades ago. Together, these portraits trace how love persists even as time reshapes faces, bodies, and circumstances.
The exhibition officially opens on 15 January 2026 at the National Library Building (Level 1 Plaza). Guests of Honour include participating couple Sylvia Lim, Chairwoman of the Workers’ Party, and Quah Kim Song, former national football star, alongside other couples featured in the exhibition.
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An Enduring Commitment in an Ever-Changing City
Singapore is a city defined by constant transformation. Over the past 60 years, neighbourhoods have evolved, skylines have shifted, and familiar landmarks have made way for the new. Against this backdrop of rapid change, marriage stands as a steady, enduring commitment - one that offers continuity through life’s many seasons.
Through Knots of Time, Leong Ka Tai places these deeply personal relationships within a broader national narrative. By pairing present-day portraits with wedding images from the past, the exhibition highlights how traditions from earlier generations coexist with contemporary realities. It is a quiet yet powerful reflection on how private commitments endure amid social, cultural, and urban change.
Across Cultures, Generations, and Circumstance
The project builds upon Leong’s earlier work for the Setouchi Triennale in Japan (2019), where he photographed elderly islanders holding their wedding photographs with some widowed, bearing visible traces of time, loss, and memory.
Returning to Singapore after years working abroad, Leong found renewed inspiration in the country’s diversity of cultures, faiths, and lived experiences. Knots of Time reflects this richness, featuring couples whose relationships cross race, religion, and social expectations.
One particularly moving story is that of Elizabeth and former national sprinter C. Kunalan, who fell in love during a time when interracial relationships were widely frowned upon.
“Objection from my father. So he said, ‘You better break up with this Indian boy or you have to leave home.’ So of course, I had to leave home,” Elizabeth recalls.
Now married for more than 60 years, their story speaks to quiet resilience as love sustained across race, culture, and circumstance. It is one of many narratives within the exhibition that reveal how commitment, patience, and shared history shape a marriage over time.
Sharing Stories of Commitment
In keeping with the exhibition’s themes, a digital Instagram competition will run throughout the exhibition period. You’re invited to share a photograph and personal memory that reflects your own relationship journey. Selected participants stand a chance to win an INSTAX instant camera, with behind-the-scenes content and updates shared via @knots.of.time on Instagram.
About Leong Ka Tai
Leong Ka Tai has been a professional photographer for over 40 years, with works exhibited across Hong Kong, Europe, the USA, and Southeast Asia. His photographs have appeared in 22 books and numerous publications, including National Geographic, GEO, Stern, Life, The New York Times, The Sunday Telegraph, and Paris Match.
Naturalised as a Singapore citizen in 1995, Leong lives and works in Singapore today. Growing up in a city where English and Chinese cultures intersect, he continues to explore themes of culture, identity, and race — a familiar yet ever-evolving subject in his work.
Knots of Time: Marriage Then and Now runs until 1 February 2026, encapsulating two years of patient observation, trust, and storytelling — and offering a tender reminder that while time changes everything, love, when nurtured, endures.
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