“AEROSOL: Boston’s Graffiti DNA, its Origin and Evolution” constellates the work of Boston’s graffiti writers and muralists — a medium transient by nature, often lost to development and change and gentrification — at ShowUp Gallery in the SoWA district of Boston’s South End.
The exhibition features art by Timmy “Zone” Allen, Thomas “Kwest” Burns, Barrington “Vex” Edwards, Ricardo “Deme5” Gomez, Shea Justice, Chepe “Sane” Leña, Rob “Note” Stull and David “DS7” Taylor; archival photography by John Brewer, and a short documentary by Paris Angelo.
AEROSOL is curated by arts writer and panelist Jennifer Mancuso, who writes for Art New England. The featured works span a 40-year period highlighting Black and Brown culture in the city, particularly in the Jamaica Plain and Mattapan neighborhoods.
During these four decades, technological advancements and changes have had a tremendous collective impact. Now more than ever, technology has enabled us to further capture, further record and further educate each other with endless cloud-space, resources and online activism. It’s enabled us to create digital, sometimes otherworldly art.
However, these advancements have an impact on local communities and artists. Businesses are often replaced with full amenity apartment buildings; the products of over- saturated artificial intelligence replace artists. Folks are encouraged to call an Uber instead of waiting for the train.