Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
