🔗 Share this article Young Australian Charged for Allegedly Placing Googly Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Artwork The local council stated they could not remove the eyes without damaging the artwork. A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it. Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage. Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”. The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year. The damaged sculpture after the stickers were removed. The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture. “This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - 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” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism. At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and design. Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”. Cast in Blue is its formal title but residents called the piece the ‘Blue Blob’.