Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork

Damaged sculpture with eyes attached — The local council mentioned they were unable to remove the eyes without harming the artwork.

A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

Art piece after eye removal — The affected sculpture after the googly eyes were taken off.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.