Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely 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 municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.