TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A public art installation in Kaohsiung appears so identical to a Japanese artwork that an investigation has been opened into plagiarism accusations.

The work, a curvy metal sculpture titled “Fairness, Justice and Harmony,” is a work that won a tender by the Ministry of Culture in 2017 for the Kaohsiung Branch of the Ministry of Justice’s Administrative Enforcement Agency. The installation is found to bear many similarities to a ceramic work, titled Oroshi-Typhoon, by Japanese artist Kino Satoshi.

The agency has requested the tender winner address the issue as a panel of experts in art and intellectual property is commissioned to look into the case, it said in a statement.

Taiwanese artist Tsai Wen-hsiang (蔡文祥), who is behind the project, denied plagiarism and said the two works are different from material to structure. He, though, admitted they look similar in terms of aesthetics, wrote Liberty Times.

Kino, who learned about the incident on Thursday (Sept. 29), thinks otherwise. The Japanese artist said in a Facebook post he was astounded to find the many identical elements between the two works, including the twist angles. The fact that the Kaohsiung version is called “fairness and justice” appears ironic, the artist implied.

According to Kino, the artwork was completed in 2015 and made a debut in Kyoto. It won the Censor Award at the 2016 Taiwan Ceramics Biennale.

Oroshi is a Japanese term depicting “a wind blowing strong down the slope of a mountain,” per an introduction of the work on his website.

Artwork in Kaohsiung is accused of plagiarism. (CNA photo)

(Kino Satoshi website photo)