Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
