Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
