Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without harming the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
