Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“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 pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
