Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader stated 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 intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
