🔗 Share this article Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork The local council mentioned they could not take off the eyes without harming the artwork. A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it. Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage. Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”. The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December. The affected sculpture following the googly eyes were removed. The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture. “This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.” She said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage. At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance. Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”. The sculpture is its formal title but residents called the piece the ‘Blue Blob’.