Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

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.

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

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“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 disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

When the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.