Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge 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 stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-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.”
The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
When the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
