Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.
A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
