Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming 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 embraced Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
