Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
