Christina Miguel-Mullen is an artist whose work includes mural painting, interactive multi-media, the Internet, photography, installation, video, and performance. The process involves an investigation into micro aspects of personal identity, culture and family history, to the macro aspects of culture, labor, colonialism, political involvement and displacement. Using her family experiences and cultural history taken from the diaspora of Hawaiians and Filipinos, she incorporates images taken from popular culture and presents these images out of their usual context to expose the contradictions inherent in society. Looking closely at the exoticization of the women of Hawaii, Women Living in Paradise / Ku'e, Ku'e, Ku'e (2004) is a series Miguel-Mullen created by digitally collaging images that detail the history of Hawaii’s colonialization. Set against the backdrop of texts that scrutinize Hawaii’s history are vintage photographs that depict smiling Hawaiian women in stereotypical dress composed of hula skirts and native foliage. Contemporary Hawaiian inhabitants are also shown as participants in the tourism culture that is so pervasive in that state today. Meshing a study of Hawaii’s sordid past as a result of western colonialism and present-day Hawaii, this series of prints thoroughly provide an observation of the many relationships between the unique state of Hawaii and the American government that contributed/s to Hawaii’s currently social climate.

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Christina Miguel Mullen currently works as a Public Artist/Muralist on private commissions, grants, and community redevelopment projects. She is the recipient of the NEA Arts Learning Grant where she is the director of a portable digital mural project with schools throughout Southern California. She is currently working with the Santa Monica Museum of Art on the Wall Works Project. She works part-time at the Orange County Museum of Art as the recipient of the Visionaries Artist Internship teaching arts to schools who visit the Museum. She holds a MFA in Drawing and Studio Art and a MA in Interdisciplinary Studies under a designed program with the Chicano Latino Studies, Anthropology, Asian Studies Gender Studies and Fine Art department entitled, “Ethnic Studies through murals.” During the summers she works for the Getty Museum Grant Program as a Mentor and Discussion Leader with the Getty Summer Multicultural Interns leading art tours, discussing theory, artist practice as well as advising. In addition, she also works as a Public artist directing large-scale mural projects and conceptual interactive projects with local non-profits and youth as the founder and Director for Leonida Flip-side murals and college instructor of mural painting at Santa Ana College. Some of the projects include murals for the Los Angeles Unified School District, East West Community partnership, People’s Core, SIPA, FASGI, Local 11, The Getty Research Institute, Self Help Graphics, and projects located in Long Beach including Poly High School, Family Resources and Services, Homeland Cultural Center and Memorial Hospital. Her work has been collected by major institutions such as the “Mangan Tayon” print series which she created for the Maestras Atelier print exhibition at Self Help Graphics Juried exhibition. She has received several grants and awards for her work from the Public Corporation of the Arts Neighborhood Grant Mapping Mac Arthur Park Mural and Oral History Project, the Historical Fine Arts Commission of Carson -Carson High School Mural, Artist in Residence Kellogg Fellowship at the Long Beach Museum of Art, and recipient of the Dean’s Scholar Award for Public Art in the Urban Landscape at Cal State University Long Beach.