Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.