Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.
When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
