Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable 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 society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
