Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
