Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
