Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.