🔗 Share this article Young Australian Charged for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork The local council stated they could not take off the eyes without harming the artwork. A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it. The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage. In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”. Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December. The affected sculpture following the googly eyes were removed. A day after the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece. “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 pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.” The mayor said the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism. When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design. Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”. The sculpture is its formal title but locals nicknamed the piece the ‘Blue Blob’.