Blek Le Rat, born Xavier Prou in Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, was one of the very first graffiti artists in Paris and has been described as the “Father of Stencil Graffiti” Blek was first introduced to graffiti during a trip to New York City in 1971 where he was inspired to bring the style back to Paris, adapting the stencil as a more fitting technique for French architecture. He is best known for stenciling a giant graphic image of a rat all over Paris in the early 1980s, which to him symbolized both freedom and the dissemination of art through the city as if it were the plague. Blek, who has influenced generations of urban artists around the world, boasts a subtle social commitment and considers his images as a gift he gives to the city. His works often represent solitary individuals that can be encountered in the urban space–women, children, the elderly, and a diverse range of contemporary characters. In a desire to bring the people of the city closer to art, he quotes the great classics such as Caravaggio, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. “I would like to bring the characters out of museums to return them to the people of the city.” His street art has appeared in cities across the world, and he has exhibited in New York, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, and beyond.