Overview
Famed graffiti artist Banksy has unveiled a number of new artworks in response to the Syrian migrant crisis, including one piece featuring late Apple founder Steve Jobs. Sprayed onto the wall of 'The Jungle,' a refugee camp in Calais, France, which is currently home to thousands of people facing an uncertain future, the most significant of the new pieces depicts Jobs in his trademark black turtleneck, with an early generation Mac in one hand and a bag thrown over his shoulder.
A photograph of the artwork on Banksy's website is accompanied by a caption that reads "the son of a migrant from Syria," in reference to Jobs' biological father who emigrated from Syria to the United States in the years following the Second World War.
"We’re often led to believe migration is a drain on the country’s resources but Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian migrant," said the anonymous artist in a statement to the British press. "Apple is the world’s most profitable company, it pays over $7bn a year in taxes – and it only exists because they allowed in a young man from Homs."
Authorities in Calais have pledged to preserve the mural behind glass or transparent plastic to ensure that it is not defaced or stolen. "It is very good and it has a message," said Mayor Natacha Bouchart to local newspaper Nord Littoral.
Other pieces left by Banksy during his recent trip to the port city include a silhouette of a child with a telescope looking out over the ocean towards the UK, and an image of shipwreck survivors clinging to a raft and signalling desperately to a passing yacht on the horizon. The latter work is an homage to The Raft of the Medusa by 19th century artist Theodore Gericault, and is tagged on Banksy's website with the caption "we're not all in the same boat."
Banksy has been focused on the Syrian refugee crisis for some time now. In September, he pledged to send the timber and fixtures from his pop-up amusement park, Dismaland, to Calais, where they could be used to build shelters for migrants.
Via ABC News.