Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
