Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture

A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large 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 the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag 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 creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.