Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
