Grace Coudal

To Be Held By You

In Grace Coudal's BFA Thesis Project, To Be Held By You, she debuts her ongoing photography series that explores how queer, feminine intimacy has been navigated throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. As her photography series continues, Coudal seeks to represent an array of authentic queered intimacies that are experienced by feminine folx of different genders through the use of 35mm film. To Be Held By You offers an exploration of the physical intimacy —or lack thereof— during a time when medical and governmental restrictions limit the touch and connection we are permitted to have with others. Government sanctioned social distancing does not diminish the innate craving for human affection and physical connection that humans have. This series seeks to highlight queer femmes that are navigating intimacy in new ways in their homes. This series of large-scale, vertical, and horizontal images portrays a mix of candid and portrait photographs that work to highlight a range of experiences in the absence of in-person, queer spaces, and communities. The photos are informed by the conversations Coudal had with her subjects about experiencing pleasure and loneliness in long-distance relationships, with new partners, and with themselves. Central to this project is Coudal’s research on Queer Theory, Transgender Studies, and Sexuality Studies that she has studied as a student receiving her minor in LGBTQ+ & Sexuality Studies at the University of Michigan. By framing queer intimacy in her art, Coudal offers a celebration of LGBTQ+ individuals, bodies, and experiences. Her use of 35mm film photography is central to document raw moments that serve as a physical archive of time.