Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from Australia 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, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished 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 the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
