Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
