A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
