Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She added the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
