Although most media outlets have enthusiastically welcomed the newest work by Banksy, one website in particular has been critical of his decision to depict the corporate mogul.

A young man from Homs

The big artwork in the Calais camp - where around 4,500 live in miserable conditions while they wait for the transfer across the English Channel - honors the Apple founder, whose father was a refugee from Syria.

On a wall near many refugee tents, the artwork depicts Jobs in his recognizable style – black turtleneck and old Macintosh computer in his hand, but also with a bag on his back. Banksy also published this statement to accompany the work:

"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 a year in taxes - and it only exists because they allowed in a young man from Homs."

This kind of praise for the founder of one of the world's most hated and most beloved corporations sounds a little bit unusual coming from an artist who is often extremely anti-corporate minded.

Mixed message

"Isn’t Banksy a big enemy of the corporations?" asked Jordan Freiman on the American Internet site Death and Taxes, and gave an ironic conclusion. "It looks like the big corporations suddenly became good, so I ask you all to give your opinion on this subject." He also paraphrased a line from the cult movie "The Big Lebowski": "Banksy is not wrong, he’s just an asshole."

Freiman also writes that even before Banksy, many others have remembered the fact that the father of Steve Jobs was a refugee from Syria. But he also notes that everybody with half a brain figured out a long time ago that the idea to welcome the refugees should not be based on the assumption that one day one of them will create a company worth millions of dollars.

"These people are desperately fleeing from the horror they have found themselves in, only hoping that they can manage to live in a relative peace," writes Freiman.

Because of the fact that the mural is placed in a real refugee camp, Freiman concludes, Banksy is actually saying to the refugees: "Hey you, you better earn this hospitality."

The article was published and downloaded from Lupiga.com.