Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated 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 moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
