Banksy Depicts Steve Jobs as Syrian Refugee in New Work
Banksy created a series of new works at “the Jungle” migrant camp in Calais, France in an effort to remind nations to be more accepting of refugees. In one piece, the street artist depicted Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as a Syrian refugee; Jobs’ biological father was born in Syria and studied at the University of Wisconsin. As Banksy noted in a statement accompanying his new works, refugees can have a positive impact on economy and society.
“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,” Banksy wrote. “Apple is the world’s most profitable company, it pays over $7 billion a year in taxes –- and it only exists because they allowed in a young man from Homs.” The Jobs mural was positioned next to an unrelated piece of graffiti that read, “Nobody deserves to live this way,” the BBC reports.
In another piece, inspired by Theodore Gericault’s The Raft of the Medusa and posted on Banksy’s official site, a group of migrants atop a raft attempt to flag down a passing cruise ship in the distance. Under an overpass, Banksy also sketched in bright orange lettering a despairing note, “Maybe this whole situation will just sort itself out.”
The street artist previously revealed that he would give the building materials from his dismantled “bemusement park” Dismaland to create shelters for the migrants in “the Jungle” in Calais, France.