Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
