Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
