Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, 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” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
