The Hapa Project
[1][2][3][4] Fulbeck began the project in 2001, traveling the country photographing over 1,200 volunteer subjects who self-identified as Hapa (defined for the project as mixed ethnic heritage with partial roots in Asian and/or Pacific Islander ancestry)[5][6] Each individual was photographed in a similar minimalist style (directly head-on, unclothed from the shoulders up, and without jewelry, glasses, excess make-up, or purposeful expression).
[8] The Hapa Project was created to promote awareness and recognition of the millions of multiracial/multiethnic individuals of Asian/Pacific Islander descent in the U.S; to give voice to multiracial people and previously ignored ethnic groups; to dispel myths of exoticism, hybrid vigor and racial homogeneity; to foster positive identity formation and self-image in multiracial children; and to encourage solidarity and empowerment within the multiracial/Hapa community.
"[10] The use of a clinical photographic style combined with the listing of the subject's ethnic heritage alongside their image visually quotes from various pseudo-scientific 18th and 19th century racial studies of Carl Linnaeus, Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, and Arthur de Gobineau [See: Spickard, Paul, Almost All Aliens, Routledge, New York, NY 2007] However, Fulbeck's decision to have the subjects self-designate their ethnicity and to include their individual handwritten statements counters this methodology, giving ownership and responsibility to the subjects themselves.
As historian Paul Spickard writes, "Kip Fulbeck is using the pictures to provoke and encourage his readers.
[See: Fulbeck, Kip, Part Asian, 100% Hapa, Chronicle Books, San Francisco 2006, p. 261] The project also plays upon and critiques the official photographs each person has taken for their driver's licenses, passports and other forms of identification.
[11] A further strategy aimed at diminishing the power dynamic between photographer/subject was to have each participant choose their own image, with the option of re-photographing them if they desired.
[17] Many of the exhibitions include a participatory component where visitors can take part in the project by having their picture taken and writing an individual statement.
The project has received both national and international news coverage, being featured on CNN, MTV, PBS, NPR, and Voice of America.
Major newspapers covering the project include The Los Angeles Times,[18] Orange County Register,[19] and Kyoto Journal.
[8] Fulbeck cites photographer Jim Goldberg and comic artist Lynda Barry as specifically influential to the creation of the project.
Fulbeck also credits historian Paul Spickard as a major influence, particularly his book Mixed Blood: Intermarriage & Ethnic: Intermarriage And Ethnic Identity In Twentieth Century America (University of Wisconsin Press, 1991) [See: Fulbeck, Kip, Part Asian, 100% Hapa, Chronicle Books, San Francisco 2006, pp.
"[8] Celebrities in the project include Lynda Barry, Wuv Bernardo, Asia Carrera, Karen David, Amy Hill, Sean Lennon, Liz Masakayan, Greg Pak, Sonny Sandoval, and Sandra Tsing Loh.
