Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
