“The good taste of the Chinese comes as a surprise to me”
Imagine the surprise when artist Wouter Mulier discovered that a copy of the sculpture he had created for the municipal hall in Herent (Flemish Brabant) was being sold on a Chinese website. The Flemish artist had no knowledge of the copy until somebody gave him a bell.
“I got a call from somebody I don’t know. He told me all about it. I don’t have the habit of visiting Chinese websites, but it is a copy of my work! The website says it’s a copy of an original work in Fujian, but they show a photograph of my work in Herent (Flemish Brabant). It’s the photo I made for my website.”
The Chinese copy is smaller than the original. Still the asking price is 10,000 euros.
Wouter is incandescent:” This isn’t permitted. Royalties are due to me. It’s sad something like this happens without seeking my permission and in such a brutal way. It’s so absurd it nearly makes you laugh.
Wouter is trying to see the plagiarism in a positive light. “The good taste of the Chinese comes as a surprise to me. It’s so crazy that they precisely chose my work on the other side of the globe. But it leaves a bitter aftertaste.”
He will now be contacting a European body specialising in these kind of issues.
The original work entitled “Fusion” that stands outside Herent municipal hall isn’t for sale. It symbolises the co-operation between Herent’s various municipal departments, e.g. the police, the library and the administration. “It shows that together we stand stronger” says the now world-famous artist.