Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
