A decade ago a giant sundial stood proudly on Shanghai’s Huangpu River. It was a remarkable sight a striking sculpture. This wasn’t just any sculpture though. It was a near-perfect copy of a famous British artist’s work. Wendy Taylor CBE’s Timepiece a sundial next to London’s Tower Bridge. The Shanghai replica stood for years unnoticed. Then an art enthusiast spotted the uncanny resemblance. A photograph revealed the truth. The Shanghai sculpture was almost identical to Taylor’s creation.
The 放歌 sculpture as it was known in Shanghai was a brazen act of plagiarism. It mirrored the design. Even the materials seemed the same. The central pointer mimicking a dockyard nail. The chains supporting the structure. The base emulating London cobblestones. Every detail was carefully copied.
News of the discovery reached Taylor. Initially she thought it was a clever Photoshop trick. A closer look though confirmed the devastating reality. The sculpture was a blatant copy. The only difference was a slight change in the angle of the time indicator.
Taylor contacted authorities. She contacted artists’ rights organizations. She tried to get the copy acknowledged. It wasn’t until an international news outlet published a story that things changed. Within days yellow screens appeared. They hid the sculpture from view. Workers swiftly dismantled it. The Pudong New Area Planning and Land Resources Administration admitted it was a copy. They stated they would demolish it.
The 放歌 sculpture’s demolition was a victory for artistic integrity. It highlights the global reach of intellectual property concerns. It’s a reminder that even in the bustling heart of Shanghai artistic originality matters. While the physical sculpture is gone its story lives on. A cautionary tale for those who seek to profit from others’ creativity. The episode serves as a powerful testament to the importance of protecting artists’ rights worldwide. And a tribute to the enduring legacy of Wendy Taylor’s original Timepiece.