Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, 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 stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture 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”.
