Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced 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 artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
