Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
