Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She said the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
