Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.