Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
