🔗 Share this article

A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

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

The mayor added the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.