Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
