Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture

A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing 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 costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.