Ricardo: Asian communities have lived in the West forever.
The fact that there's so little representation,
I think is a testament that there is an urgency
to start documenting today.
Because if we don't do it, then no one else will.
My name is Ricardo Nagaoka,
and I'm an artist based in Portland, Oregon.
For the last few years,
I've been focusing on Asian masculinity
and how it relates to the American landscape.
I really wanted to make the statement that Asian Americans
are also part of this landscape.
And so for this project,
it was really about putting my friends in these places where
we do exist.
Whether it's denim on denim or it's just slacks
and a button-up shirt.
It's a look that is classically American,
which is something that, you know,
I saw my grandparents wearing growing up.
But within media,
the people wearing the clothes didn't look like you.
Denzel: I am Filipino.
I was born in Singapore.
But I am also as American as apple pie.
But on paper, I'm not.
I'm an other.
Benardo: I tend to come off as ambiguously Asian.
So I think people ascribe you identities,
which are based on like what they assume Asianness is.
And I think Asian gets over generalized.
Brit: I learned that I exist in a lot of intersections
that I feel like most people don't really think about.
And I think about it on a daily basis.
Ricardo: Image equity to me is more than just diversity.
It's really about inclusion.
Denzel: I will always think of myself as a character
and not myself because of the lack of representation.
Ricardo: So often camera technology doesn't really see skin tones
that aren't necessarily Caucasian or white,
in the way that we really actually look at ourselves
and the way that we actually are.
And so to use Google's Real Tone technology,
it's really an opportunity to really see people
in a way that actually reflects
what they actually look like.
Heen: I'll be able to show my kids what it was like
being an Asian-American compared to maybe not
being able to see something from my parents’ perspective.
Ricardo: As an artist and as an individual.
So much of who I am as a person
is about living in that middle space.
It's about being the hyphen in between.
Denzel: So to imagine more authentic representation of Asians.
I would completely forget about that idea
of being a character.
I think I would just be me.