Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
