“Joy” and “999 Cranes” are two separate but connected pieces outside Ruggles Station on the Boston campus that make up the largest mural in Boston.
Title: “999 Cranes” (2018) and “Joy” (2019)
Artist: Silvia Lopez Chavez
Materials: Acrylic and spray paint
Size: Approximately 10,000 square feet
Location: Boston campus, Ruggles Station
About: When Silvia Lopez Chavez was working as an artist-in-residence at Boston Children’s Hospital, she would ride a shuttle from the hospital campus to Ruggles Station.
During this time, she would reflect on her day: the pain and fear she saw, but also the hope and joy, like when staff celebrated patients’ discharge by throwing a “bubble parade” for them to enjoy as they left the unit.
Those parades would later inspire “Joy,” one of two murals she painted that now adorn the exterior of Ruggles Station on Northeastern’s Boston campus.
“That ride and arriving at the station at times would be really difficult,” said Lopez Chavez. “There would be hard days working with patients at the hospital. That inspired the idea of this woman blowing bubbles and thinking about being able to celebrate even during times that are challenging and difficult.”
“Joy” is the second of the two murals Lopez Chavez painted on the station, but one of many she’s painted throughout the area. Lopez Chavez moved to the Boston area for art school after being raised in the Dominican Republic. She has stayed here ever since, working as a visual artist, primarily focusing on colorful prints and murals. Her work can be found in spots around the city, including by the Charles River Esplanade.
Northeastern University President Joseph Aoun commissioned Lopez Chavez to paint “999 Cranes” in 2018 as part of a plan to incorporate more public art on the campus. Depicting hands folding a paper crane, the mural is an homage to the work we do to achieve our dreams, Lopez Chavez said, similar to the patience and time it can take to complete a piece of origami.
“It was very important to reflect this idea of how we build our future, how we think about craftsmanship and what it takes to build something that might take time,” she said. “It might take practice, but being able to achieve our dreams, it’s a lot about putting n the time and the effort. … And I love hands. I always try to incorporate them as part of the human aspect of some of my murals.”
As Lopez Chavez was wrapping up this piece, the university approached her about doing a second one and painting the entire wall. The second piece, “Joy,” depicts a woman blowing bubbles, a nod to her time in Boston Children’s. Together, the two make up one of the largest murals in Boston.
While the two pieces are separate, Lopez Chavez says she views them as “diptychs” and connects them through colorful lines that go from the back of the hands on “999 Cranes” to “Joy.”
“It’s like two coming together as one,” she said. “It’s a different energy and a different group of people that uses that space, but at the same time. I wanted them to connect.”