Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic 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 damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She said the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
