Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without damaging 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 costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
