Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
