Yola visited San Francisco in 2012. We shared her art and did an interview. Recently she confronted a situation that can happen to anyone anywhere…

At this year’s international fine art photography fair PARIS PHOTO 2014, a Berlin photographer exhibited his photograph of my iconic paste-up from Warsaw, which I have called Pieta.

The framing of his photo is exactly the same as my original photograph of the artwork, which is widely accessible on my website, the Internet, and various publications.

You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to do a quick search on the net and find it that the original artwork was made by me, under my street-art name YOLA. And yet the photographer chose not to seek my permission to use the image. He didn’t bother to find out whose art he was photographing and to obtain the artist’s consent.

Imagine the outcry if he took of photo of Banksy’s art, or let’s say, Mona Lisa, and tried to sell it as a his masterpiece. Not to mention the lawsuit…

But YOLA? Well, he probably thought, I can get away with stealing this YOLA’s artwork and no one will notice. But someone did notice. And they got in touch with me to let me know that they just saw my piece at PARIS PHOTO. Signed by someone else’s name.

The Berlin/Helsinki gallery through which the photographer was trying to sell his photo has taken it down now. They have informed me that the photographer lied to them, assuring them he had the permission of the original artist (ie me) to use the image. They were quick to distance themselves from him. For them the matter is closed.

But is it? I am told that the photograph in question is included in the photographers book, also without my knowledge and permission.

So where do I stand legally? My artwork is in public domain, anyone with a camera can take a picture of it. How do I protect myself from copyright thieves?

See her art: Yola
Read her interview: Yola in San Francisco

Read what happened to SF Bay Area artist- Eddie Colla last year: It is only stealing if you get caught