In Cristina’s History Mikael Levin explores how the multi-generational migration story of a branch of his family encapsulated the turbulent eras of industrialization, colonialism, and post-colonialism. It consists of images made in the places where his relatives lived — in Poland, Portugal and Guinea-Bissau — accompanied by brief narratives situating each of their lives within the larger historical context of their time. It is a story of the struggles for the betterment, and ultimately the defeated hopes, of the 20th century.

Cristina’s History was first exhibited at Le Point du Jour, in Cherbourg, France in 2009, which also produced the accompanying book.  Later that same year the project was exhibited at the Berardo Collection Museum in Lisbon, and in 2010 it was shown at the Jewish Museum in Paris, where Levin was awarded the museum’s Prix Maratier. The complete set of images from the project was purchased in 2012 by the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain (France).