Faculty

Profile

Christina Heflin is a historian of visual culture with a specialty in early twentieth century avant-garde European art and an interest in the intersection of science and culture. She received her PhD from Royal Holloway University of London where she focused on the relation between marine biology and Surrealism, or how Surrealist use of marine fauna served to expand human sensorial capacities in parallel with the technological advancements made during World War I. She received her master’s degree in art history and conservation of cultural heritage from l’Université de Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne with a focus on photographic collections care in museums.

She has published on British Surrealist Eileen Agar, marine biologist and filmmaker Jean Painlevé as well as on the history of British Surrealism. She is an active member of Association 19-20, a group of Paris-based contemporary art history researchers and is on the communications committee for the International Society for the Study of Surrealism. Christina also liaises with the South Korean city of Icheon, a UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art which possesses a beautiful and rich history of ceramics dating back over 1,000 years, to help promote their cultural heritage in Europe. Her approach to museological and art historical instruction prioritizes active learning, equal representation and canonical decolonization.

Portfolio

Association 19-20

International Society for the Study of Surrealism