Breathe Life

Rob “ProBlak” Gibbs is a visual artist and organizer who has transformed the cultural landscape of Boston through graffiti art since 1991. His murals in the Breathe Life series can be found on buildings and schools in Boston's Roxbury and Dorchester neighborhoods. This stunning mural occupies a prime position on Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway, one that until now had featured more generic work by out-of-state artists. Here is ProBlak's artist statement about this piece: "Growing up in Roxbury during the Hip-Hop Golden Age, I saw the power of graffiti as a form of self-expression. Graffiti became a tool for me, and others in my community, to chronicle and immortalize our culture and history. For me, graffiti acts as a contemporary form of hieroglyphs, a way to document and pay homage to underserved, underheard communities in the city. My vision is to beautify the predominantly Black and Brown communities of Boston, this is a driving force behind my artistic practice and vision." The girl in the mural? ProBlak's daughter. Learn more about his work here. This piece will be up until May 2023, on the Greenway near Amtrak's South Station.