Australian Teen Charged for Allegedly Placing Sticker Eyes on ‘Blue Blob’ Artwork
A young person from the Land Down Under has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.
The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.
Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.
The accused made no plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.
A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.
“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”
She added the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.
At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.
Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.
