Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture

A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She said the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.