Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She said the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
