Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“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 frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
