🔗 Share this article

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

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video captured a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find 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 adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.