Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
When the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
