Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.