Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
