Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork

Altered sculpture with eyes attached — The local council mentioned they could not remove the eyes without damaging the artwork.

A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

Sculpture after eye removal — The damaged sculpture following the stickers were removed.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable 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 welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents 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”.