Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.