Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
