Japanese ceramics artist Satoshi Kino will be taking legal action against Taiwanese sculptor Tsai Wen-hsyang (???) for plagiarizing one of his artworks, members of Kino’s family told CNA on Monday.

In October, Kaohsiung residents pointed out the eerie similarity between a stainless steel public art installation in front of the Kaohsiung branch of the Ministry of Justice’s Administrative Enforcement Agency and a ceramic piece created by Kino.

The accusations prompted the branch to enlist the assistance of nine art experts to analyze the Taiwan work on Oct. 19.

Three of the experts deemed that the steel sculpture was the result of plagiarism, while the other six experts acknowledged that the two pieces closely resembled each other, prompting the branch to apply to the Kaohsiung Bureau of Cultural Affairs to have the work removed.

It also decided to seek compensation from Tsai’s design firm.

Kino’s family told CNA that after the application was approved on Dec. 20, the bureau notified Tsai to oversee the removal of the piece on Dec. 24.

According to Kino’s family, however, Tsai has not only disagreed to have his creation destroyed following its removal, he has insisted on his innocence and the authenticity of his work and refused to provide any apologies or compensation to Kino.

Unlike Tsai, the branch had issued an official explanation to Kino after the expert’s findings and apologized to the artist, members of the Japanese artist’s family said.

In defending Kino’s decision to seek legal redress against the Taiwanese artist, family members said Kino created his sculpture in 2015 and was awarded a ceramics honor in Taiwan in 2016.

The piece was subsequently displayed between July 15, 2016 and Jan. 2, 2017 at the New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum, where it has since been archived.

Following the news of the incident, Associate Professor Ray Chu (???) of Ming Chuan University’s Department of Architecture said the case is the first in Taiwan where a local art piece was removed because of alleged plagiarism.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel