Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising 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 city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She said the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses 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 legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
