Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the popular community sculpture 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 remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
