Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
A day after the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
