Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture

A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.