Arts & Culture
Singaporean illustrator Lee Xin Li criticises unauthorised use of his mural in local food court
Singaporean illustrator Lee Xin Li was shocked to find his mural artwork displayed at a Bras Basah Complex food court without his permission. While Shifu Food Court apologised and attributed the issue to contractor oversight, and assured will removed the mural, discussions on Mr Lee’s Facebook post highlighted the broader problems of intellectual property theft, suggesting that silence on these issues only condones such behaviour.
Singaporean illustrator Lee Xin Li (李欣立) was shocked to discover that a copy of his 360-degree illustration, created for his client, Formula 1 Grand Prix in Singapore during the pandemic, was used as a mural in a food court without his permission.
Mr Lee criticised the unauthorised use of his artwork, stating that it was used without any financial compensation, permission, or prior communication.
“To further add insult, the generative ai tech was used to create some mangled mess to my artwork.”
According to Mr Lee’s social media posts, the mural was allegedly displayed at Shifu Food Court, located within Bras Basah Complex, an institution long associated with artists, writers, and members of the creative community.
Expressing his disappointment, Mr Lee called it a sad state of affairs, highlighting the irony of an institution dedicated to the arts committing “art theft,” using AI in a distasteful manner, and crossing the boundaries of client-creator relationships by taking his commissioned project without consent.
Mr Lee Criticises Bras Basah Complex’s Response, Highlights Public Promotion of Unauthorized Artwork
After reaching out to Bras Basah Complex to request the removal of the artwork, the institution responded via Facebook, issuing an apology.
Bras Basah Complex clarified that its Merchants Association is a volunteer group assisting merchants in fostering community spirit.
The association explained that the complex does not have a central management system, unlike modern malls managed by REITs, and that each shop is privately owned, meaning they have no authority over individual shop operations.
“As this happened in a private establishment and privately owned property, we had no preview and purview until its opening. ”
“Nonetheless we have reached out to the owner of this establishment and hope he will reach out to you to resolve this,” the group told Mr Lee.
However, Mr Lee expressed dissatisfaction, stating that this explanation did not sufficiently address the issue, particularly given the food court’s prominent public location.
He also pointed out that Bras Basah Complex had shared news of the newly renovated food court on its social media platforms.
Shifu Food Court Claims Unawareness of Unauthorised Artwork, says Interior Design Outsourced to Contractor
The food court later responded to Mr Lee’s Facebook post, claiming they were unaware of the unauthorised use of his artwork, as the interior design had been entirely outsourced to a contractor.
They assured him that an investigation would be conducted and that, if the claim was accurate, the mural would be taken down immediately.
Shifu Food Court also clarified that the murals outside the establishment were created by students and alumni from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), and proper credit was given to them.
However, Mr Lee emphasised that the food court should have communicated more clearly.
While they clarified that the outdoor murals were by NAFA, the mural inside featuring his artwork was the contractor’s doing.
In a follow-up comment, Shifu Food Court issued an apology, explaining that they were unaware the mural inside included Mr Lee’s artwork and assured him it would be removed promptly.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Mr Lee expressed his gratitude to his followers for sharing the incident and raising awareness. He also hoped the issue would be resolved soon.
He noted that both Bras Basah Complex and Shifu Food Court have not reached out to him in other ways except on social media comments.
He further clarified that NAFA was an innocent party mistakenly dragged into the issue due to Shifu Food Court’s earlier social media posts, which credited all murals, including those inside, to NAFA.
Mr Lee reiterated that the NAFA students did an excellent job with their own murals, and their artwork was unrelated to the dispute.
Comments Highlight Broader Issues of Respect for Artists’ Intellectual Property Rights
In Mr Lee’s Facebook comment section, supporters and fellow artists discussed broader issues within Singapore’s art community.
Theatre artist Khoo Ee Hoon raised concerns about contractors assuming full responsibility for “borrowing” creative artwork without offering compensation or obtaining permission.
Another comment pointed out a dismissive attitude toward intellectual property (IP) theft, sarcastically stating that it’s not considered stealing if one claims to “borrow” ideas and “improve” upon them.
He emphasised that mindless and habitual IP theft and plagiarism are serious problems, suggesting that silence on these issues only condones and perpetuates such behaviour.
In response, Mr Lee lamented in the comment section that a mainstream media personnel once told him regarding an intellectual property issue he faced: “We didn’t know we needed to credit the artist.”
One comment suggested that if the contractor or subcontractor is not publicly named and held accountable, such practices will continue and become normalised.
Mr Lee responded by reflecting on the culture in Singapore, noting that, from his observations during his illustration journey, there seems to be a lack of accountability among parties involved in similar situations.
He emphasised that shame appears to be an alien concept for these individuals, who often proceed with the intent to avoid detection and feign ignorance if caught.
Mr Lee responded by reflecting on the culture in Singapore, noting that, from his observations during his illustration journey, there seems to be a lack of accountability among parties involved in similar situations.
One supporter suggested that Shifu Food Court should commission Mr Lee to create an original mural for the wall and have the person responsible for stealing the art pay for it.
In response, Mr Lee recommended that Shifu should seek a refund from the contractor, as some contractors hold the service provider accountable for ensuring intellectual property (IP) rights are properly cleared.
He also mentioned that he wouldn’t be interested in working on the mural, as the experience had tarnished his memories of Bras Basah Complex.
Daniel Yap, former publisher of the socio-political news site The Middle Ground, criticized Shifu Food Court in a Facebook post, stating that while they blamed the contractor, they are still clearly at fault for failing to secure copyright clearance from Mr Lee.
