Australian Teen Faces Charges for Supposedly Attaching Sticker Eyes on ‘Cast in Blue’ Sculpture
A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.
Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.
Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.
Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, 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 intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”
She said the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.
At the time the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
