Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
When the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
