Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
