Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses 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 artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
