Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
