Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable 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 said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
