Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, 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 reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added 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 design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
