Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
