Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending 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 harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in 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.”
She added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
