Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Sculpture

A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.