Young Australian Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A teenager from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge 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 popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.
When the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
