Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
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.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
