Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
