Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ 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.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
