The "71" series began in 2002, as a multi-media documentary based on artist Maria Lau’s investigations into her cultural identity. The work is both personal and documentary as Lau takes a historical and cultural journey of her Cuban-Chinese heritage. The photographs, which are created using both film and digital techniques, are primarily made by in-camera film exposures. This technique invites the element of chance in the process, allowing Lau to fortuitously investigate her Cuban-Chinese-American heritage and personal identity as phenomena of multiplicity and chance – culturally, ethnically and nationally. The 71 series uniquely combines imagery and exposure, while intertwining and juxtaposing Lau’s ancestral roots, the culture, and the history of Cuba into a memorable landscape.