Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising 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 public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
