Fulbeck created his Hapa Project for people of Asian Pacific Islander heritage to define their background themselves.

He photographed 1200 volunteers, and asked them to answer the question, “What are you?” Answers are printed beneath each photo.

The results were sometimes humorous, and varied with ethnicity and age. Children, for example, didn’t always define “what” they were by ethnicity, but by interests or illustrations.

“We like to box people in boxes,” said Fulbeck, referring to ethnicity-defining checkboxes on forms.

Fulbeck’s last work was “Permanence,” a book featuring people with tattoo art and the stories that accompany it.

The exhibit features other artists, including OU student Chandana Reddy. Reddy portrays herself in a series of three photographs displaying a sense of having two identities. The first photo is in Western dress, the second of her in the nude and the third of her in garments that show her Indian heritage.

The exhibits can be viewed at the Oakland University Art Gallery, room 208 Wilson Hall, through April 13.