Food court removes artwork following plagiarism allegations

Shifu Food Court in Bras Basah Complex has apologised and taken down a wall decal with artwork plagiarised from well-known local illustrator Lee Xin Li.

The food court, which had been closed for a month-long renovation and reopened on Sept 30, unveiled its revamped facilities in an Instagram post on Sept 21, highlighting new artwork on its walls.

These visuals are of local hawker scenes against the backdrop of Singapore’s skyline. One also pictured a family of otters scurrying near several men who appeared to be clad in Formula 1 uniforms, bearing an uncanny resemblance to an illustration by Mr Lee commissioned by Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix in 2020.

The food court boasts 14 stalls and can seat a total of 430 people.

Mr Lee, who is currently overseas, took to Facebook on Oct 1 to point out the copied artwork, saying that his artwork “was used without financial remuneration, permission or communications”.

“To further add insult, the generative AI tech was used to create some mangled mess to my artwork,” he said, referring to a portion of one image used by the food court that distorted the faces of the people in the original illustration.

The homegrown artist, who is renowned for drawing inspiration from the Singapore environment he grew up in, said Bras Basah Complex is a place of sentimental value to him, full of fond memories from his schooling days.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Oct 2, Mr Lee said his original artwork was a digital 360 degree illustration meant to be viewed on mobile devices and presented in digital media. It took about three months to complete.

He said he found out about the copied visuals through a friend who sent him photos of the newly renovated food court. The artist verified the news through the social media accounts of Bras Basah Complex and Shifu Food Court.

The initial post by Shifu Food Court had credited the murals as the work of students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa), though it later clarified that this referred to only murals painted on the outside of the food court.

A check by ST showed that Shifu Food Court has since wiped its Instagram account.

In response to ST’s queries, Shifu Food Court said in a statement that it was first alerted on the night of Oct 1 via a Facebook post that the artwork, which it described as a decal, featured on the inside of the food court was an original creation by Mr Lee.

It added that the decal had been completely removed by 10am on Oct 2 and that it has contacted Mr Lee directly to apologise and clarify the situation.

“When we started on this renovation project, we had entrusted the interior designing entirely to our contractor and unfortunately, we were ignorant of the fact that the work they presented to us had been sourced from the artist’s original creations,” it said.

Shifu Food Court said it never intended to use creative work without proper credit or permission, and takes responsibility for this oversight.

“Shifu is dedicated to spotlighting the Singapore art scene, and using artists’ intellectual property without consent goes against our ethos, whether or not it was intentional.”

It reiterated that the murals painted by the Nafa students are of their own creation and urged the public not to speculate. Each mural that is created by the students is accompanied by a credit panel highlighting its concept and the artists’ names, it said.

Shifu added that it remains committed to allowing students - through its partnership with Nafa - a platform to showcase their skills and creativity, and that their efforts should not be discredited because of “our oversight in misinterpretation linking Nafa to the said (artwork)”.

“We take full responsibility for that and have also apologised to Nafa.”

Mr Lee said Bras Basah Complex has also apologised to him via e-mail and that he is not keen to take legal action.

“I would prefer it gets resolved amicably with a sincere apology and appropriate redeeming actions made to the affected parties such as Nafa and myself,” he said.

Though reparation discussions are still in flux, Mr Lee said he has suggested for the parties involved to make a donation without tax exemptions that match the fees for such projects to art organisations.

The Bras Basah Complex Merchants Association, which has been managing the complex’s social media accounts and communication, clarified with ST that it is not the building’s management and that the complex is owned by the Housing Board.

It said it “operates as a facilitator for community activities, and does not have direct control over the business operations, interior designs or artistic decisions made by individual merchants”. It added that each tenant is responsible for its own interior design choices – including any artwork displayed or used in its space.

“We know that the damage has been done and understand the seriousness of this matter.

“We have reached out to the tenant concerned to ensure they understand the importance of respecting artists’ rights and to address any misunderstandings regarding the source of the murals. We take these matters seriously and value the contributions of artists to our community,” it added.

This is not the first time Mr Lee has had his work stolen.

In June, local confectionary Ollella took the artist’s illustrations of local desserts from graphic design platform Canva, and printed them on shopping bags.

Mr Lee said neither Ollella nor Canva sought his permission to use the artwork, adding that he was not the only artist involved in the Ollella incident who had their works used without their knowledge.

“Thankfully, Ollella was proactive in seeking a solution and we managed to work on a project together. There can be good outcomes out of bad incidents,” he said.

The plagiarism of artworks is becoming increasingly prevalent in Singapore, Mr Lee said. Technology, he noted, is exacerbating the issue.

In the case of Canva, for instance, his artwork was submitted for use without proper vetting by the platform, said Mr Lee. This led to Ollella using the artwork without knowing it was stolen.

He said: “AI technology can also make it easier to plagiarise work online. With technology, there are no boundaries as well, the act could be done overseas while the artwork is from Singapore.”