Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
