Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager 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.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
