Australian Teen Charged for Supposedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of 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 CCTV footage captured a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in December.
A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.