Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ 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 plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage 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 told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
