Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She said the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
