Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork

A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

When the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.