Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; 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 “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
