Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

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

She said the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.