Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
