Young Australian Faces Charges for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by 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 said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
