Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued 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 community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
