Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture

A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She said the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.

Costing 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 discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.