Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
