Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
