Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork
A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of damaging property.
In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without harming the sculpture.
“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”
The mayor added the local government would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.
