Australian Teen Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.
The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
