Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She said the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
