Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
A day after the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She said the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
