Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
