Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She said the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
