Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She said the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
