Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
