Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration 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 public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.