Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find 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 repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
