Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts 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”.
