Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture

A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.