Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
