Hapa is a publication documenting diversity. Through portraiture, conversational interviews and archival family photos Hapa* explores concepts of identity and belonging in relation to being of mixed ethnic heritage.
*Hāpā is the Hawaiian word for those
who are of part Asian descent.
"Instead of being both I think you always end up having this sense that you're neither. You become something based a lot on the context you're in."
– Micaela
“I have my own version of existence that can exist outside a box of half-Thai or half-English.”
– Alex
“If we aren’t represented in books, television, magazines, were are denied identity. If we are denied identity we cease to exist.”
– Kayla Briët (Dutch, Indonesian, Chinese and Native American artist)
"I don’t think I’ve ever felt that I had to choose a side, but more that people would assign one to me. Growing up it was usually that they would consider me Asian as if that’s all I was.”
– Nicola
“It makes you realise that identity, though obviously forged out of our ethnic origins, is very complex and fluctuating. I don’t fully identify with one thing which means I have to define what those elements of my identity mean for me.”
– Azura
"I used to identify myself as mixed race, Black and White only, because it was easier and that’s what I saw - it was the closest skin tone I could identify with.”
– Jordan
“To me, self identification is more of a day-to-day struggle, but in a good sense I guess. It’s a continuous process of self discovery.”
– Lina
“My parents met in Romania, but in the 80s during Communism so their relationship wasn’t allowed. They say that they were the pioneers of our generation because of their relationship, but we are going to be even more than that.”
– Sabrina
