Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor said the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
