Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.