Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
She added the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
