Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and told the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
