Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

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

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.