Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
