Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
