🔗 Share this article

A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism 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 members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She said the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.