Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

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

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

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

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

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

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.