Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
