Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
