Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.
In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
