Niccolo Cosme said the gay community won’t ever take maltreatment or bad comments.

It's sometimes necessary to point out who you're not in order to be understood for who you are.

Renowned photographer Niccolo Cosme did just that in the staging of the first “I Am Not Immoral” exhibit at The Lighthouse Studio, Malate, Manila, which kicked off on Jan. 30.

The photo exhibit is a response to the Commission on Elections’ (COMELEC) seeming discriminatory decision to disqualify “Ang Ladlad” party-list, which represents the LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender) community in the upcoming elections.

“As you know, the gay community won’t ever take maltreatment or bad comments. We always try to do something [about those] but of course, not in the sense that we’re going to be violent or anything.

“We thought of coming up with something like this. These are basically art works that [showcase] colors…different colors but with a single stand. And that is, we are not immoral,” the fashion photographer and recent "Celebrity Duets" contestant told Manila Bulletin Entertainment Online.

Niccolo believes that one should speak up when his or her rights are being stepped on.

“It’s a reiteration, an expression of disapproval. Kasi ‘di ba pag tahimik lang, pag tinolerate mo, ibig sabihin totoo, ‘di ba? So what we’re doing is saying that we don’t agree with you,” he said.

Celebrities such as actor-director Manny Castañeda, TV host-actor John Lapus, and comedian Diego are some of the featured subjects in the exhibit, alongside a number of graphic artists, filmmakers, and lawyers.

But the interesting part of the series is the inclusion of straight individuals who support the gay community, including congressman and senatorial candidate Riza Hontiveros.

“There are some people [that we’ve shot] who are not gay but they support us. There are some girls who are straight. So more or less it’s a whole series where every photo has its own story,” he related.

While there are those who have strict and conservative beliefs about sexuality, Niccolo said that there are heterosexuals who are now more open-minded.

“We are surrounded by heterosexuals. We work with them. We deal with them on a daily basis. For this [exhibit], it’s just more of the old school people eh. They can even be gay themselves and they’re condemning themselves as well.

“Needless to say, kung anuman ‘yong point of view nila, nasabi na rin naman nila eh, it’s already been done. So this is just to retaliate,” he explained.

Niccolo said they will continue their awareness campaign because “they [COMELEC] already said it and they didn’t apologize for what they said.”

For someone like Niccolo whose sexuality is discriminated and whose acts are deemed immoral, what is immoral?

“It’s not about morality or immorality. As long as you’re not hurting someone, and as long as you know deep inside you’re doing something good for yourself and for a larger community of people, then that’s moral,” he said.

“I Am Not Immoral: The Exhibit” runs for one week. Photos featured will soon be uploaded online.

The “I Am Not Immoral” video that was shown during the opening of the exhibit was directed by Jethro Patalinghug. The exhibit was sponsored by social entrepreneur and political scion, Francis Baraan.