Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork

A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.