Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
