Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork

A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor added the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.