Photo © Jessica Hudson
Portrait - NOMINEE: Jessica Hudson
Reconciling Faith and Sexuality
Support this photographer - share this work on Facebook.
Dallin H. Oaks said, “Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and then keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual blessing and privilege available to men, women, and children everywhere”. Equal opportunity to receive the blessings of eternity is fundamental to the ideology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Equally important is the principle of eternal families and marriage between a man and a woman. Doctrine and Covenants 131:1-3 states “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; And if he does not, he cannot obtain it”. The crucial role that heterosexual marriage plays in receiving the highest degree of glory makes it seem paradoxical for a loving God to create homosexual beings.
As a way to personally explore this paradox I started this project and reached out to friends and friends of friends who deal with this in their own lives. This is a topic that I have always had questions about but never felt like I knew where to get answers. Through this project I have found that there aren’t nearly as many answers as questions, but what I can change is my understanding and compassion. The people in this project are queer members of the Church. The texts displayed with these images are quotes from interviews I conducted. These show how some LGBTQ+ members of the church deal with doctrinal uncertainty in face of their sexuality and belonging in the church’s plan for salvation. Even though many of the people I interviewed are at similar stages in life and have had comparable upbringings; their experiences and insights are all different from each other. I have walked away from each interview with an increased understanding and love for my LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters, as I hope others who see this project will as well.
The images are created through an alternative printing method called the gum bichromate printing process. Watercolor pigment, gum Arabic, and potassium dichromate are combined to make a light sensitive substance. This is exposed under a UV light and developed four different times producing a full color image. These images are all one-of-a-kind much like each person interviewed and photographed has their own unique experiences, thoughts, and conclusions. The edges are rough and the process causes loss of detail and sharpness in the image, but that’s part of what gives character, beauty, and meaning to these photographs.
About author:
Jessica Hudson recently graduated from Brigham Young University with her bachelor’s degree in photography and anthropology. Over the course of her years at BYU she has had the opportunity to develop her skills and combine the two subjects. Jessica’s work merges the artistic freedom and visual impact of a photograph with in depth research and qualitative data to give both voice and face to important subjects. She has had two shows and several pieces shown at the Harris Fine Arts center and a piece exhibited at the Kennedy Center for an image taken on an internal study program. She will also be exhibiting a photograph at the Cover Center for the Arts Fall Art Showcase.
Growing up Jessica always had a passion for the arts but it wasn’t until a high school photojournalism class that she discovered photography. Since then she has nearly always had a camera in hand. In college she honed her craft and one of her favorite classes was an exploring alternative photographic processes class. In this class Jessica mainly focused on learning how to do gum-bichromate prints with multiple color passes as well as experimented with cyanotypes, tintypes, platinums, photogravures, and Van Dyke browns.
As a way to personally explore this paradox I started this project and reached out to friends and friends of friends who deal with this in their own lives. This is a topic that I have always had questions about but never felt like I knew where to get answers. Through this project I have found that there aren’t nearly as many answers as questions, but what I can change is my understanding and compassion. The people in this project are queer members of the Church. The texts displayed with these images are quotes from interviews I conducted. These show how some LGBTQ+ members of the church deal with doctrinal uncertainty in face of their sexuality and belonging in the church’s plan for salvation. Even though many of the people I interviewed are at similar stages in life and have had comparable upbringings; their experiences and insights are all different from each other. I have walked away from each interview with an increased understanding and love for my LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters, as I hope others who see this project will as well.
The images are created through an alternative printing method called the gum bichromate printing process. Watercolor pigment, gum Arabic, and potassium dichromate are combined to make a light sensitive substance. This is exposed under a UV light and developed four different times producing a full color image. These images are all one-of-a-kind much like each person interviewed and photographed has their own unique experiences, thoughts, and conclusions. The edges are rough and the process causes loss of detail and sharpness in the image, but that’s part of what gives character, beauty, and meaning to these photographs.
About author:
Jessica Hudson recently graduated from Brigham Young University with her bachelor’s degree in photography and anthropology. Over the course of her years at BYU she has had the opportunity to develop her skills and combine the two subjects. Jessica’s work merges the artistic freedom and visual impact of a photograph with in depth research and qualitative data to give both voice and face to important subjects. She has had two shows and several pieces shown at the Harris Fine Arts center and a piece exhibited at the Kennedy Center for an image taken on an internal study program. She will also be exhibiting a photograph at the Cover Center for the Arts Fall Art Showcase.
Growing up Jessica always had a passion for the arts but it wasn’t until a high school photojournalism class that she discovered photography. Since then she has nearly always had a camera in hand. In college she honed her craft and one of her favorite classes was an exploring alternative photographic processes class. In this class Jessica mainly focused on learning how to do gum-bichromate prints with multiple color passes as well as experimented with cyanotypes, tintypes, platinums, photogravures, and Van Dyke browns.