Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
