Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
She added the council would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
