Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts 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”.
