Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
