Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly 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.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
