Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.