Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
