Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members 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 first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
