Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
A day after the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.