Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.