We love seeing mixed-race families. We get a lot of it here in Oakland, a city ripe with diversity. And it's a beautiful thing. This photo essay "Mixed Blood" by photographer CYJO, who identifies herself as a Westerner of Korean ethnicity, explores the identity through the framework of mixed-race families. Photographed over a three year period (2010-2013) in both New York and Beijing, the portraits examine how race, ethnicity, and heritage contextualize a person as an individual.
“The format for ‘Mixed Blood’ had the individuals together but standing separately (with the exception of select mothers and babies) which allowed the individual and group identities within the family unit to be more clearly observed. The organic process of accumulating a group brought a sense of random sincerity as opposed to a fixed image or expectation that could occur if people were specifically researched and then chosen to be a part of the project. The accident of inclusion allows for the outcome or end product to be more of a surprise and that excites me.” - CYJO
