Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
