Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
