Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging 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 society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
