Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, 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 sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
