Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told 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 said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
