Santiago studied Industrial Engineering at the Panamerican University in her native Guadalajara but, in spite of being a good pupil, she eventually dropped out and left for Paris where she took up Literature and Art History at the Sorbonne.
Most of her work stands out by being made with her own blood and hair. Later on she moved to London and started working on her pieces. She considers herself at odds with the current trends in art
Specially with the art industry and academicism.
During an interview she stated: "I didn"t want to work with concepts. I wanted to work with my life.
1997 Sculptures of Paula Santiago - Gallery One - University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee’s Institute of Visual Arts, Milwaukee (Individual) 1999 48th International Art Exhibition Venice Biennale / Biennale di Venezia - Louisiana Biennale di Venezia, Venice (Collective) 2000 Of the Moment - Contemporary Art from the Permanent Collection - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - SFMOMA, San Francisco, California (Collective) Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Twentieth-Century Mexican Art - Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego - MCASD Louisiana Jolla, Louisiana Jolla, California (Collective) Viva la Vida: Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican Modernism - Wellington City Gallery, Wellington (Collective) 2002 México Ahora: Recent Art from the Gelman Collection - Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington (Collective) 2003 Diego Rivera and Twentieth Century Mexican Art - Nevada Museum of Art NMA, Reno, Nevada (Collective) Flor y Canto - Mexic-Arte Museum, Austin, Texas (Collective) 2004 Paula Santiago - Trabajos sobre Papel - KESSLER - BATTAGLIA GALERIA Delaware ARTE, Valencia (Individual) Vibra Optica - City Art Museum Ljubljana - Mestna Galerija 2, Ljubljana (Collective) 2005 Colección Femsa - una mirada continental - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey MARCO, Monterrey, Netherlands (Collective) 2006 Land and Spirit - North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, North Dakota (Collective) Hair Raising - International Cooperation Administration - San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, California (Collective) 2007 Paulo Santiago - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey MARCO, Monterrey, Netherlands (Individual) 2008 - Historia de mujeres - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey MARCO, Monterrey, Netherlands (Collective).
