Banksy, the anonymous street artist, political activist, and film maker, has unveiled his newest piece, spray painted on the wall of the infamous migrant and refugee camp in Calais, France.
Called “the jungle” by French nationals, the camp houses around 6,000 North Africans, and has been a frequent target of anti-migrant groups. Most recently, the camp is believed to have been set on fire as retaliation for the Paris terror attacks last month.
The piece, which depicts the late Apple founder Steve Jobs holding an original Mac in one hand and carrying a sack in the other, is an effort on the artist’s part to address the negative attitudes towards migrants.
According to TheGuardian, Banksy wrote a statement accompanying the piece: “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. Apple is the world’s most profitable company, it pays over $7bn (£4.6bn) a year in taxes—and it only exists because they allowed in a young man from [Syrian city] Homs.” Steve Jobs is the biological son of Syrian political migrant Abdul Fattah Jandali, who currently lives in the U.S. And is the vice chairman of the Boomtown Casino and Hotel in Reno, Nevada.
This is not Banksy’s first statement of support on behalf of Syrian refugees. The artist’s dystopian theme park Dismaland was dismantled and moved to Calais. The project was a nod to the plight of refugees, and the artist himself described it to the Sunday Times as “a family attraction that acknowledges inequality and impending catastrophe.” One of the attractions has an even more direct message: “In the remote control boat pond at Dismaland it randomly switches the boat you operate—so you have no control over whether your destiny is to be an asylum seeker or a western super-power,” he told the Sunday Times.