Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
