"Mixed Blood"

"Mixed Blood is a photographic and textual project portraying NYC and Beijing based families that include children with “mixed” races (sic), ethnicities, and cultures. Mixed Blood questions and diffuses the historical categorization process of race/ethnicity and focuses on connective, cross-cultural experiences. The portraits and accompanying narratives illustrate the varying relationships family members have with their backgrounds, cultural context and citizenship. This unifying of race (sic) and cultures within a family unit continues to influence the evolution of American and global identity today."
CYJO


Above: Valter Family, 2010. Citizenship: American, German. Ancestries: African-American, American Indian, Bahamian, French, German. Languages: English, German, French, Spanish. Live in New York (literally via).


Above: Doyle Family, 2010. Citizenship: American. Ancestries: African, American Indian, Creole, Cuban, French, Irish. Languages: English, Spanish, French. Live in New York (literally via).

Born in 1974, CYJO (pronounced see-joe) is an American visual artist that works mainly in the photographic medium but also with text and video. She is most known for her KYOPO Project (2004-2009), a photographic and textual project about American immigration and identity through the lens of the Korean ancestry. Over 200 people explore their relationships with their ancestral culture and the other cultures they embody through citizenship or life experiences. (literally via)


Above: Casarosa Family, 2010. Citizenships: American, Italian, Korean. Ancestries: Italian, Korean. Languages: English, Italian, Korean. Live in New York (literally via).

"what I find intriguing about these families is that they defy the border and racial conflicts that we read about or may have experienced. although there can be some complexities that hint at the tensions and differences from the power of heritage, these portraits and narratives illustrate how their love naturally crosses boundaries."
CYJO


Above: Snodgrass Family, 2013. Citizenships: American, Chinese. Ancestries: German, Han Chinese, Irish. Languages: English, Mandarin. Moved back and forth to China since 1999 (literally via).


Above: Huang Rierson Family, 2013. Citizenships: American, Belgium. Ancestries:Chinese, All Western Europe except France. Languages: Mandarin, French, English. Live in Beijing (literally via).

All members of the Huang Rierson family are fluent in three languages but have certain preferences depending on where and who they speak to. Both daughters prefer to speak Mandarin to each other because they find it easier while they speak English to their father and French to their mother. French is also the language of choice when they are having conversations at the dinner table (via).

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photographs by CYJO via and via and via and via and via, (c) CYJO