Eddie Colla recently discovered that a knock-off of his 2009 artwork, Ambition is being sold through the Walmart website without his knowledge or consent — and no less, being labeled as a Banksy. Doing what he does best, Colla is holding them accountable through a new street art piece in San Francisco (not to mention, a lawsuit). Ironically enough, the blatant rip-off came shortly after Colla curated the group show “Made in China,” where he commissioned duplicates of artists’ works to strike up a conversation about originality. Adding another twist, the text of the original piece states: “If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission.”
But the appropriation of his work by a multi-national corporation was not exactly what Colla had in mind. “I made a piece about individuals controlling their own fate and not making their success contingent on the approval of others,” said Colla. “It then gets adopted by a neo-feudal corporation like Walmart. A corporation whose employment practices have created a 2 million person underclass in this country.”
To speak out against what he sees as the theft of his work, Colla recently did a billboard in San Francisco that seeks to point out the hypocrisy of Walmart’s appropriation of street art — what Colla says is a blatant contradiction against their right-wing values. Bearing the same image as the original Ambition, the new work, titled It’s Only Stealing When You Get Caught, reads: “Introducing the anti-establishment, left-wing subversive vandalism collection. Glorified vandalism available now at Walmart.” Take a look at some photos of the new piece as well as some of Eddie Colla’s recent work below.
The original Ambition (2009)
Recent Work:
Installation at Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, CA
Installation at Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, CA
Installation at Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, CA (Collaboration with D Young V)
Installation at Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, CA (Collaboration with D Young V)
Mural in Oakland, CA
