Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
