Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
