Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture

A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, 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 municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.