Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
