🔗 Share this article

A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged 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 person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.