Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared 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 recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
