Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork

A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She said the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.