Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
