🔗 Share this article

A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.

When the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Priced at A$136,000 (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 nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.