Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She said the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
