Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
